Patna, Nov 20 The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), on Thursday, accused the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) of double standards on the issue of nepotism, highlighting that nine newly inducted Ministers in the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar Cabinet come from established political families.
Throughout the recent Assembly election campaign, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar repeatedly attacked RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav over what they described as his family-centric politics.
However, with several Ministers from political dynasties now included in the new NDA government in Bihar, the RJD has sharpened its counter-attack.
According to the RJD, the NDA constituents -- who claim to stand firmly against dynasty politics -- have themselves promoted the very nepotism they condemned, by accommodating MLAs with strong political lineage in the Cabinet.
Among the sworn-in Ministers are several prominent faces from well-known political households.
These include Samrat Choudhary, son of former Minister Shakuni Choudhary and former MLA Parvati Devi.
Santosh Kumar Suman, son of former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, son-in-law of sitting MLA Jyoti Manjhi, and husband of current MLA Deepa Manjhi.
Ashok Choudhary, son of former Minister Mahavir Choudhary.
Nitin Nabin, son of former MLA Naveen Kishore Sinha.
Political legacy is also evident among the women who have entered the Bihar Cabinet.
Shreyasi Singh, daughter of former Union Minister Digvijay Singh and former MP Putul Kumari, has been appointed as a Minister.
Rama Nishad, daughter-in-law of former Union Minister Captain Jai Narayan Nishad and wife of former MP Ajay Nishad, also finds a place in the Cabinet.
Other Ministers with strong political backgrounds include Deepak Prakash, son of former Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha and MLA Snehlata; Vijay Choudhary, son of former MLA Jagdish Prasad Choudhary; and Sunil Kumar, son of former Minister Chandrika Ram and brother of former MLA Anil Kumar.
The RJD has questioned whether the NDA's criticism of nepotism was merely a political tool, alleging that the formation of the Cabinet clearly reflects the dominance of political families.
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