JDU leader slams RCP Singh on parting remarks, says 'Nitish Kumar got him identity'

JDU national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh slammed erstwhile party leader RCP Singh on Sunday for the latter's remarks against the party. Claiming the latter's identity was built up by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Singh said RCP's mind was always 'elsewhere'.

Patna: A day after former Janata Dal-United chief RCP Singh slammed the party while turning in his resignation from the primary membership, national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh on Sunday said the former was always 'mentally elsewhere, which is why he provided a statement against the party. Speaking at a press conference in Patna, Singh also claimed that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had 'made' the erstwhile leader.

"I am surprised by the things he (RCP Singh) said during handing out his resignation. He was physically here, but his mind was somewhere else. He called the party 'dubta hua jahaz' (a sinking ship). Does he have any idea about JDU and its inception? Does he know the treacherous roads we had to cross before we reached here? He was always an ally of power, not an ally of resistance. Who knew him before Nitish Kumar? The Chief Minister built up his identity," Singh said.

Singh further noted that the former party chief liked to reiterate that he "became JDU national president." "He did not become anything. He was made the president by Nitish Kumar Ji. The JDU that he called a sinking ship is racing ahead. Some people were trying to poke holes and flood the ship. The Chief Minister has identified such conspirators, and the ship has now been fixed," he added.

Being asked about the condition of the party's alliance with the BJP in the state and the expected situation in the 2024 General Elections, Rajiv Ranjan Singh said all was well in the state. "Just yesterday, the party unitedly voted in the Vice Presidential elections. All our MPs have cast their votes," he stated.

Despite asserting that the alliance was thriving in the state, the leader clarified that the party was not willing to have any representatives in the Union Council of Ministers. "We had decided right after the 2019 elections that we are not going to join the government at the Centre, and we stick to that decision," he said.