Ex-Minister RCP Singh Quits JD(U) After Party Alleges Irregularities In Properties' Acquisition

After Janata Dal (United) demanded answers from former Union minister RCP Singh about acquisition of propertes, Singh on Saturday evening quit the party.

Singh resigned from JD(U) and alleged there was a "conspiracy" by those "envious" of him.

"The allegations are a conspiracy by those who envied my getting inducted into the Union cabinet. I would like to tell them that those living in glass houses must not hurl stones at others. I also hereby give up my primary membership of the party," said Singh, as per PTI.

Besides resignation, ANI reported that Singh on Saturday also talked about forming his own party at a press conference in Mustafapur.

"Whenever my party workers or their family members have been in some trouble, I have offered help to them. If you have resentment against me, deal with me," said Singh, as per ANI.

A section of JD(U) leaders have collated details of properties owned by Singh and his family and have questioned the leader on it, according to Dainik Bhaskar. They claim Singh's conduct is in violation of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's 'zero tolerance' policy on corruption. The party has accordingly sought answers from Singh on the question of property acquisition.

Nav Bharat Times has reported that the list made by JD(U) includes 20 properties in Bihar's Nalanda district. These properties are in the names of Singh's wife Girija Singh and daughters Lata and Lipi singh. 

Earlier, Singh had said that questions posed at him were an attempt to humiliate him. In his defence, he further told NDTV, "These properties were bought by my wife or daughters who are income tax payers since 2010."

Singh's resignation is the culmination of a long tussle between Nitish Kumar's JD(U) and Singh, who was once a confidante of Nitish but then fell out of favour.

The bone of contention is believed to be Singh's acceptance of Union Cabinet position without Nitish's consent, following which Nitish had sacked Singh from the post of party president. Later, Singh was denied a Rajya Sabha ticket, which led to his resignation as a Union minister. 

Singh further said on Saturday evening, "I cannot take it anymore though I am yet to receive the letter. I have had a good career in the IAS as well as in politics. Nobody has ever been able to raise a finger on my probity."

PTI reported that Singh appeared well aware of the contents of the communication issued by JD(U) state president Umesh Singh Kushwaha, citing complaints of unidentified party workers that the bureaucrat-turned-politician had amassed "huge property" from 2013 onwards.

Asked whether he now intended to join the BJP, Singh said he has not yet made up his mind.

Singh, however, took a jibe at Kumar's prime ministerial ambitions, remarking, "He will not become (the PM) even if he were to be reborn seven times."

Singh used the occasion to vent some spleen against his mentor whom he accused of having "not even shown the courtesy to inform me beforehand that I was not being considered for another term in the Rajya Sabha".

He added, "This talk of my having served two consecutive terms does not hold because had it been a party policy it should have been applicable to all. Even the current national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan has served more than two terms in the Lok Sabha."

Blamed by many leaders for the JD(U)'s poor show in the 2020 assembly polls wherein the party's tally fell to 43 compared with 71 five years earlier, Singh said, "I was then the national general secretary (organisation). But what about the national president. The post was then held by the chief minister himself. I took over when he stepped down."

Singh minced no words in accusing his boss Nitish Kumar of complacency on which he blamed the JD(U)'s dwindling fortunes.

"Have you seen any other chief minister who wastes three hours every evening enjoying gossip over snacks with members of his coterie? He [Nitish] was a different man in his first term from 2005-2010 for which he is still remembered and respected. We used to tell him that he was a prime minister material and it seems that went to his head," alleged Singh, who had joined the JD(U) in 2010.

Singh, a former bureaucrat, took care to take no names though he dropped ample hints that he suspected leaders like Upendra Kushwaha to be behind a "conspiracy" against him.

He said, "There is no remedy for envy. Some people resented my induction into the Union cabinet. Those who had fought the last assembly polls as chief ministerial candidates of non-starter coalitions are now occupying the centrestage in the JD(U). The party is now finished. I am giving up my primary membership."

Notably, Kushwaha had earlier in the day sought to twist the knife by stating that investigating agencies could take suo motu cognisance of allegations against Singh and take appropriate action. A former Union minister himself, Kushwaha had re-entered JD(U) last year, merging his Rashtriya Lok Samata Party, a move that was seen as Kumar’s attempt to consolidate his OBC base but had left RCP Singh, the then national president, unhappy.

Singh said, "No case can be made out against my wife and my two daughters, who have been dragged into this matter. I would like to say that those living in glass houses must not hurl stones at others."

Incidentally, one of Singh’s daughters, Lipi, is a Bihar cadre IPS officer and currently posted as the superintendent of police of Saharsa district. 

Singh also mocked JD(U) leaders, including Lalan, who had taken exception to "RCP should be our CM" slogan being raised by supporters.

"Did anybody say I should be made the CM removing the current one. What was there to be so insecure?" he asked sarcastically.

(With PTI inputs)