With senior RJD leaders quitting the party, its supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav failing to get a central ministerial berth, and discontent among its leaders and supporters on a new high over Mr Yadav naming the RJD’s Delhi headquarters after wife Rabri Devi, the once mighty regional party may be hastily on the wane.
The question most discussed in Bihar’s main Opposition party these days is whether the apparent lack of political instincts shown by the party boss is a transitory phase. By his long absence from Patna and failure to attend several important RJD functions here in recent months, Mr Yadav has not only disheartened his confidantes but also fuelled speculation about the future of his and his family’s grasp on the party. In neighbouring Jharkhand, the RJD is already considered terminally moribund.
The RJD’s avalanche of current crises originated from Mr Yadav’s continuing aloofness from the affairs in his home turf. After contributing to the party’s senior leaders in Bihar and Jharkhand quitting this month, the impacts of this aloofness gained momentum after Mr Yadav named the RJD’s headquarters on Rouse Avenue in Delhi as “Rabri Bhavan” in an apparent disregard for Bihar’s socialist icons the party relentlessly swears by.
“Rabri Deviji suddenly rose and shone when Laluji went to jail in 1997. She is now rising and shining for no reason while the party now needs strong leadership,” said a former minister in Mr Yadav’s RJD government.
Mr Yadav’s long-time aide and senior RJD leader Ramvachan Rai quit the party and joined Bihar’s ruling JD(U) in the presence of CM Nitish Kumar last week, while another of his close associates, former Jharkhand RJD president Gautam Sagar Rana, quit the previous week. Ali Ashraf Fatmi, a prominent Muslim face in the RJD and a former Union minister of state, has publicly threatened to resign from the party posts he holds. After the RJD’s disastrous performances in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls and the 2010 Bihar Assembly polls, questions are now being raised about its remaining credibility under Mr Yadav’s leadership.
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RS Q-hour will be back to 11 am
AGE CORRESPONDENT
New Delhi
July 17: With the Monsoon Session of Parliament beginning on August 1, the Rajya Sabha is reverting the Question Hour to the start of the day’s proceedings from 11 am to 12 noon.
It will be abandoning the experiment started during the Budget Session to shift the Question Hour between 2 and 3 pm in the wake of reservations of several political parties over the move.
Minister of state for parliamentary affairs Rajeev Shukla said the decision has been taken by Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari after consultations with leaders of various political parties.
In early March, the chairman had decided to shift Question Hour after apparently being fed up with the growing tendency among members to disrupt proceedings the moment the House assembled for the day.
The move had come in the wake of members using Question Hour to highlight issues like the 2G spectrum scam and Telangana statehood, often leading to adjournments. This also deprived members of their right to ask questions and seek answers.