Bihar Agriculture Minister Sudhakar Singh resigned from the position on Sunday, according to his father and state RJD president Jagadanand Singh. The minister has previously embarrassed the Nitish Kumar administration due to his 'outspokenness,' PTI reported. In a statement, Jagadanand Singh stated that the state agriculture minister resigned because he has been vocal about farmers' issues and does not want to widen the schism between the party and his personal beliefs.
The RJD leader said that the agriculture minister, who had been "raising his voice in favour of farmers", decided to put in his papers so that "the rift does not deepen" ('taaki ladaai aage nahin badhe').
"My son wanted to fight for the rights of farmers, but he was having a lot of problems doing that, so he gave it up," Jagdanand Singh said.
Added Jagdanand Singh: "The farmers are being treated unfairly, and someone needs to speak up for them. This was raised by the ministry of agriculture. Farmers in the state have been wiped out by the killing Mandi law (Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee Act)," news agency ANI reported.
The minister, whose recent remarks about corruption in his own department had made headlines, was unavailable for comment immediately, reports PTI.
Singh, 46, was chosen as an MLA from Ramgarh in the Kaimur district on the RJD ticket in the most recent State assembly elections in 2020, marking his first appointment to the magathbandhan (grand coalition) administration.
With the installation of the mahagathbandhan government in the state, Singh declared, "I'll not let the continuation of the BJP agenda in my department," as per a report by The Hindu.
Recently, Singh made news for claiming that all of the employees in his department are "thieves" and that, as the department's leader, he is, therefore "head of the thieves (choro ka sardar)," The Hindu reported.
(With Inputs From Agencies)