Internal bickerings in NDA came to fore

Patna, July 13 (UNI) High drama prevailed in a meeting of the ruling NDA in Bihar last night with an MLA accusing Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of 'acting like a bureaucrat' and the latter threatening to quit.

Bickerings within the ruling alliance over several issues, including cabinet expansion and alleged humiliation of MLAs at the hands of bureaucrats surfaced during the meeting of the legislators here last night.

The meeting, held at One Anne Marg, the official residence of the Bihar chief minister, turned bitter at one point when senior BJP MLA Bhola Prasad Singh confronted Mr Kumar accusing him for 'acting like a bureaucrat'.

Things reached a flashpoint when the chief minister threatened to quit the post making it clear that he had no lust for power.

The meeting which was convened for chalking out strategies to be adopted on the floor of the Assembly during the current monsoon session, became a platform of grievances where the MLAs vent their ire over several issues, a participant said.

Mr Bhola Prasad Singh tried to draw the attention of the chief minister towards the 'humiliation' of JD(U) MLA Purnamsi Ram. He said the MLA was dragged from a saloon in Bagha in West Champran district recently by the local police and kept in custody for over 36 hours.

He said the legislators had become an object of hate and neglect during the Nitish regime. MLAs Renu Devi and Shashi Kumar Rai too had to face the wrath of the administration just for overtaking the vehicle of a Police Superintendent, they added.

In the meeting Mr Singh accused Mr Kumar of maintaining a 'mysterious silence' over such issues and alleged that he was not taking enough steps to protect the dignity of the members of the House.

Apparently perturbed with the allegations, Mr Kumar made it clear that he was fully aware of his responsibilities and assured them that in no case would he tolerate the humiliation of the public representatives.

EDS: Here pick up suitably from earlier series.

UNI