Patna (Bihar) [India]: Hours after it became evident that Rajiv Ranjan (Lalan) Singh has offered to resign as Janata Dal-United (JD(U)) national president, Bihar Leader of Opposition (LoP) Vijay Kumar Sinha said that a self-respecting person never accepts this type of farewell and he should have offered his resignation earlier.
"A self-respecting person never accepts this type of farewell. When the party and the leadership do not have confidence in him, there is no point in holding that post. He (Lalan Singh) should have resigned earlier," Sinha said, speaking to ANI on Friday.
Speaking on the way the entire episode played out while the JD(U) national executive meeting was underway, the LoP said, "The way the whole scene played out before the press and media is shameful."
Lalan Singh's offer of resignation comes amid speculation of a leadership change in the party. Lalan Singh was also attending the party national executive meeting in the Constitution Club in Delhi, along with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and other party leaders.
Bihar Minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary confirmed the offer of resignation from Lalan Singh saying "There is a national executive meeting of JD(U) going on. If they accept our proposal, then Nitish Kumar will be the party president. Lalan Singh told CM Nitish Kumar that he will be busy with elections, so he wants to hand over the post of party president to him and Nitish Kumar accepted it..."
Nitish Kumar is now set to take over as JDU president even as the party braces for the Lok Sabha Elections in 2024 and the Assembly Elections in 2025.
Earlier in the day, some members of JDU were seen raising slogans "Desh ka Pradhan Mantri kaisa ho? Nitish Kumar jaisa ho" outside the Constitution Club in Delhi.
The meeting comes just days after the critical INDIA alliance meeting in Delhi. The JDU which is part of the alliance will now be getting into hectic parleys with the Congress on the alliance combination for the state.
—ANI