Patna: As JDU and RJD along with other constituents formed the new government in Bihar, all eyes are now set upon the cabinet expansion of the new government. Only Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Prasad Yadav have taken the oath as Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister of the state respectively. On the other hand, the security of Tejashwi has been upgraded to Z plus.
After garlanding the statues of seven martyrs on the occasion of Sahid Diwas, Nitish reacted to the question of cabinet expansion and said, “Soon the cabinet expansion will take place, most probably after 15 August.”
Sources said that once the Independence day function gets over on August 15, cabinet expansion will take place. In the NDA government, there were 16 ministers from the BJP quota which would be now replaced by RJD, Congress, and other constituents in the new government.
In the previous government, there were 30 ministers which included 16 from BJP, 12 from JDU, 1 from HAM, and 1 Independent. According to the sources, the formula of the cabinet expansion would be the same which was there in 2015 when Nitish had formed the government with RJD and Congress. However, the number of ministers can go up to 36 instead of 30 in the changed scenario.
It is obvious that the number of RJD ministers would be more in comparison to JDU because RJD is the single largest party in the Bihar assembly with 79 MLAs followed by JDU 45, Left 16, HAM 4, and one independent. On the other hand, the security cover of new deputy chief minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav has been upgraded to Z plus along with a bulletproof car.
Also Read: We will deliver on the promise of job creation: Tejashwi Yadav
“The security cover of Tejashwi Yadav has been upgraded from Y to Z plus on the recommendation of the state security committee falls under the home department. He has also been provided with a bulletproof car,” a senior police officer of IPS rank told ETV Bharat on the condition of anonymity.
The official further said, “Z plus security is provided by the National Security Guards (NSG) commandos. People in Z plus security get 10 gunmen for mobile security and two (plus 8) for residence security. Whereas under the Y category security the protectee gets one gunman for mobile security and one (plus four on rotational) for static security.”
Such security cover is provided to high-risk individuals by the police and the government. The level of security needed for any individuals and politicians is based on the input received from intelligence which includes the state intelligence bureau (IB) and local police.