Former Bihar speaker Uday Narayan Chaudhary quits JD(U); to work for making 'Tejashwi next CM'

PATNA: Former Bihar speaker and senior JD(U) leader Uday Narayan Chaudhary on Wednesday announced his resignation from the party, saying he was hurt because of the recent rise in the incidents of attack on Dalits and minorities under the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government in the state as well as "neglect" of devoted workers and preference to “moneyed people” in the party.

He also announced to work for making RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav the next chief minister of Bihar, but didn’t make it clear whether he would join Lalu Prasad’s RJD.

“It is definite that I am not going to return to JD(U) or join any other ally of the National Democratic Alliance. Henceforth, I will work for making RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s son Tajashwi the next CM of Bihar. I strongly believe Tejashi will be the next CM,” Chaudhary said when TOI asked about his next plan.

He also said he had so far not made up mind on the issue of joining any party “but, I will work under the larger folder of Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance).”

Chaudhary is the second prominent Dalit leader after former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi, who left NDA and announced to join the grand alliance in Bihar.

Once considered an ardent loyalist of Bihar CM and JD(U) president Nitish Kumar, Chaudhary (65) has been critical of the party leadership ever since Nitish dumped the grand alliance in July 2017 and realigned with the BJP to form a new NDA government in Bihar.

A known Dalit face of the ruling JD(U), Chaudhary felt alienated, after former Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) chief and another Dalit leader Ashok Choudhary joined the JD(U) and Nitish began giving preference to Ashok.

Chaudhary, who served as the assembly speaker for ten years (from 2005-2015), played a crucial role in ouster of Jitan Ram Manjhi, another Dalit leader, from the CM’s chair in February 2015, by averting a split in the ruling JD(U). This led to return of Nitish as CM in February 2015 and subsequent formation of grand alliance in Bihar.

“The State government led by Nitish Kumar has stopped scholarship scheme for SC/ST students and converted it into loan in the name of student credit card. The government failed to check attack on SC/ST and vandalisation of Ambedkar’s statute. JD(U) leadership is also silent on the issue of denial of reservation in promotion to SC/ ST Atrocities. Very recently during Ram Navmi violence, shops of minorities were selectively attacked and burned by anti-social elements patronised by a particular party and the state government didn’t act promptly,” Choudhary alleged.

The former speaker recently attended a programme of former BJP leader Yashwant Sinha’s ‘Rashtra Manch (National Forum)' in the state capital here and had criticised the NDA governments at the Centre and state for their anti-Dalit policies.