Samrat Choudhary: ‘Nitish Kumar has used his peers and seniors most for his advantage… didn’t promote any Kushwaha, Kurmi leader other than himself’

Choudhary: For the last 17 years, Nitish Kumar has not faced any opposition in the Upper House, with Rabri Devi being the leader of the Opposition for 13 years of NDA rule. She has hardly asked the government any tough questions. But the Nitish-led Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) is now facing a tough opposition in Bihar legislature. See how Nitish was put under pressure to declare that JP’s death anniversary (October 9) would be commemorated? Why did he do so only after Union home minister Amit Shah announced his visit to Sitab Diara, JP’s paternal village in Saran? Nitish has been showing signs of nervousness ever since Shah declared he would be making frequent visits to Bihar. As the leader of the Opposition in the Council, I have been hauling up Nitish on questions of law and order, governance deficit and his ideological dilemma. Can the CM answer why Bihar continues to be last among states in development since 1990?

How do you react to RJD and JD(U) accusing the BJP of playing politics of symbolism by trying to own up JP’s legacy?

Choudhary: Lalu Prasad, the most well-known leader emerging out of the JP Movement, used to say that a king should not be born out of the womb of a queen but come from among the common people. But he gave birth to a queen when he offered the CM chair to his wife Rabri Devi. And Rabri Devi’s son (Tejashwi) is aspiring to become a king (CM). Is that what JP’s socialism and ideals meant? JP talked about people’s power, not of one-family rule. He had stood up against dynast Indira Gandhi. As for Nitish, he himself has not been following ‘politics without ideology’, one of the seven sins identified by Mahatma Gandhi. Ironically and quite ludicrously, Nitish got the list of “seven sins” written on walls of schools and other official buildings. Is his frequent changing of alliance partners in consonance with ‘polotics without principles’ (the first sin identifoed by Gandhi)? Another sin identified by Gandhi was “wealth without labour”. How can one person (Tejashwi) own over 50 properties at such a young age?

Yet, Nitish chose to be in the company of such people… We are following the ideals of JP in the real sense by working for the uplift of the poor. ABVP activists dominated the JP Movement. We do not need to co-opt JP. We have always followed him, but those claiming to his disciples have strayed from path shown by him. Bihar has not seen any politics of alliance in the last 17 years. Rather, it is always politics of Nitish, either with us or with the RJD.

You have been critical of Nitish Kumar even when he was part of the NDA alliance. Any specific reason?

Choudhary: Nitish Kumar is a person who has used his peers and seniors most for his political advantage, right from George Fernandes and Sharad Yadav, to my father and former MLA Shakuni Choudhary. I remember when the Bihar People’s Party (BPP) of Anand Mohan merged with Samata Party in 1996, only to see Anand Mohan’s political career sink. The Samata Party was primarily of the Luv-Kush (Koeri-Kurmi) constituency that also has support of the EBC Dhanuk caste. But Nitish did not promote any Kushwaha/Kurmi leader other than himself.

Now that the BJP has made you the leader of the Opposition in the Council, how would you look at drawing away or even splitting Nitish’s core Kurmi constituency?

Choudhary: One should hit the ground to know the truth, post Nitish breaking away from the BJP. There is huge disenchantment among the Luv-Kush communities, which, along with the Dhanuks, are about 13-14 per cent of the population in the state. The Luv-Kush are fast moving away from Nitish — which can be a game-changer for us. With Nitish giving all signals of handing over the reins of Bihar to Lalu’s scion, the Luv-Kush constituency would find more reasons to move away from him. Besides, it is a fallacy to assume that all Luv-Kush voters are with JD(U)… Nitish may well be talking of seven parties versus the BJP, but he should remember that Luv-Kush will go with Lord Rama’s party. For long, Lord Rama had to live in tents in Ayodhya. But now, after court orders, a grand temple is coming up. Luv-Kush will not bow down to Lalu. We look at an assimilative combination of Vaishya, upper caste, EBC, Dalits and Luv-Kush. Lalu might hold on to his Muslim-Yadav (MY) constituency, but Nitish’s EBC and Luv-Kush vote banks will disintegrate.

How do you see the recent verdict of the Patna High Court on the poll for local bodies, and the EC deferring the poll?

Choudhary: Nitish Kumar is solely responsible for the situation. As the then Panchayati Raj minister, I had met the CM along with the then deputy CM-cum-urban development minister Tarkishore Prasad, following the suggestion of the Accountant General, to set up a dedicated commission to carry out a detailed survey on backwardness for local self-government, as was warranted by a 2021 Supreme Court order. I also want to know why Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi failed to get reservation for any community between 1990 and 2015. It was with NDA that Nitish gave reservation to women and EBCs in panchayats and local bodies. One must not forget that Nitish Kumar is the one who had opposed Karpoori Thakur proposal of giving reservation to OBCs and EBCs in 1978.

Why didn’t you put pressure on Nitish to set up the commission when he was part of the NDA?

Choudhary: It’s only because we did not want to hurt the alliance. He had the best alliance with us. See how he has to give prominence to Tejashwi and even has his photograph in government offices?

You have also taken up the question of the encroachment of the Ashokan edict in Rohtas.

Choudhary: It is very unfortunate that a vast stretch of land where there is a historic Ashokan edict, has been encroached upon. Ashoka is one the biggest symbols of ancient Indian history. As the Panchayati Raj minister, I had over 100 Panchayati Raj buildings constructed. We also played a part in the naming of a grand building in Patna as the Samrat Ashok Convention Hall.

How do you see Tejashwi as a leader?

Choudhary: He is a dynast, who has got the deputy CM post on a platter. The likes of Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav and Tejashwi are comfort-seeking leaders. When big incidents happen, Tejashwi vanishes. He was not seen during the 2019 Patna floods or the Covid crisis.

Nitish Kumar has promised 10 lakh jobs and claimed to have created 10 lakh jobs already.

Choudhary: For whatever jobs he has created in health, education and other sectors, we share equal credit. It is now all about how he creates a further 10 lakh jobs… We also made some progress in industry with several ethanol units coming up. It was because of the Centre revisiting its policy on ethanol.

Union home minister Amit Shah recently said that BJP would declare its Bihar CM candidate after 2024 Lok Sabha polls? Are you in the race?

Choudhary: I have seen my family getting victimised by Lalu Prasad in 1995. We have struggled hard to come up. My father Shakuni Choudhary represented the Samata Party at the Lok Sabha…. I’m a simple party worker. It is entirely up to our leadership to take a call on the CM face.