Patna, Jan 6 (IANS): Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) state president Jagadanand Singh has given an open offer to chief minister Nitish Kumar to take a clear stand on a caste based census in Bihar and the RJD will support him and his party in the Vidhan Sabha.
"Nitish Kumar is the chief minister of Bihar. If BJP ministers are opposing him on the issue of caste based census, sack them from the cabinet. RJD will support you in the Bihar Vidhan Sabha to prove your majority," Singh said.
Jagadanand Singh said that his leader Tejashwi Yadav has a clear stand on a caste based census. He was the one who first wrote a letter to the chief minister last year, followed by a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss this issue.
"On the issue of caste based census, Nitish Kumar should not feel that he is alone. Despite RJD having some differences, on this issue RJD will stand alongside the chief minister," Singh said.
The RJD currently has 75 MLAs in the Bihar Vidhan Sabha while Nitish Kumar's party has 45 MLAs. The latter is ruling the state with the help of 74 MLAs of the BJP, 4 MLAs of HAM and three MLAs of VIP.
After the Centre's refusal, Nitish Kumar had announced to conduct a caste based census with the Bihar government funding it.
Kumar blamed the BJP for delaying the process on Monday. He said that the consensus at the all-party meeting has come from every political party of the state except the BJP.
Upendra Kushwaha, the president of the JD-U parliamentary board said: "We are thankful to Jagada Babu (Jagadanand Singh) for offering support on this issue. We are in favour of caste based census in the state. The Nitish Kumar government will conduct a caste based census in the state. The BJP has not denied in the context of Bihar."
Nikhil Anand, national general secretary of the BJP OBC wing and spokesperson, said: "The RJD is dreaming in the day of coming to power in Bihar. Its leader is giving lucrative offers to Nitish Kumar. It looks like the RJD leaders are facing a monetary crisis. Hence, they are showing desperation. The RJD is a party of one family which will be destroyed soon," Anand added.
"Nitish Kumar was the one who kicked out the RJD from the alliance after the 2015 assembly election. RJD leaders are believing that Nitish Kumar has forgotten the issues on which he separated from the RJD," Anand said.