Bihar Govt Formation: RJD, Congress Boycott Nitish Cabinet's Oath-Taking Ceremony, 'Mandate For Change Is Against NDA'

The RJD, which emerged as the single largest party in Bihar with 75 seats, also claimed the state is getting a "helpless government by the two helpless parties".

Tejashwi Yadav addresses a grand alliance press conference, in Patna. (Image: PTI)

New Delhi: Nitish Kumar took oath as the Bihar Chief Minister but none of the opposition leaders was seen attending the ceremony. Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) along with Congress on Monday said that it will not attend the oath-taking ceremony of Bihar Chief Minister-elect Nitish Kumar, that is scheduled to take place at 4:30 pm in Patna today. The Tejashwi Yadav-led party, which headed the Mahagathbandhan, decided to boycott the swearing-in ceremony alleging that the mandate in Bihar Election is against the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). "Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) boycotts swearing-in ceremony. The mandate for change is against the NDA. The mandate was changed with ‘Government Order’. Ask the unemployed, farmers, contract workers and teachers of Bihar what is going on with them. People are agitated by the fraud of the NDA. We are the people’s representative and stand with the public,” the party tweeted in Hindi.

राजद शपथ ग्रहण का बायकॉट करती है। बदलाव का जनादेश NDA के विरुद्ध है। जनादेश को 'शासनादेश' से बदल दिया गया। बिहार के बेरोजगारों,किसानो,संविदाकर्मियों, नियोजित शिक्षकों से पूछे कि उनपर क्या गुजर रही है।NDA के फर्ज़ीवाड़े से जनता आक्रोशित है। हम जनप्रतिनिधि है और जनता के साथ खड़े है

— Rashtriya Janata Dal (@RJDforIndia) November 16, 2020

Meanwhile, Nitish Kumar along with several other leaders from Janata Dal United (JDU, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Hindustan Awam Morcha (HAM) and Vikasheel Insaan Party (VIP) took oath as ministers for the new Bihar cabinet. In a meeting held on Sunday, NDA leaders had chosen Nitish Kumar as the leader of the alliance’s legislature party. The RJD, which emerged as the single largest party in Bihar with 75 seats, also claimed the state is getting a "helpless government by the two helpless parties". Attacking Kumar, it said Bihar will have a "Chief Minister who has been proven weak, idle and corrupt. And a senior partner (BJP) who has no (chief ministerial) face and is forced to resort to dubious means (for earning majority)". The party also took a dig at Kumar's reported remark at Sunday's NDA meeting that he did not want to become CM but was insisted by the BJP to continue in the post. In the election results for 243 assembly seats announced on November 10, the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan lost to the four parties NDA. The BJP is the largest party within the ruling coalition with 74 seats, followed by JD-U (43) and Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) four each. The BJP had announced before the polls that Kumar will remain chief minister irrespective of which NDA constituent wins the maximum number of seats.