India: Opposition leader expelled from House for 'mimicking' Bihar CM Nitish Kumar

A Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MLC from the eastern Indian state of Bihar has been expelled after he 'mimicked' Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.The Ethics Committee of the Bihar Legislative Council gave the marching orders to MLC Sunil Singh who had attempted to imitate the CM's mannerisms during the council proceedings on February 13, earlier this year.

The acting Council Chairperson Awadhesh Narayanon Friday (Jul 26) approved Singh's expulsion after the committee on Thursday gave the go-ahead upon completing its investigation.

Singh pleaded his innocence saying he did not mimicNitish and even if he did, it did not warrant an expulsion from the House.

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"I never mimicked the CM. Even mimicking the CM does not take away one’s membership from either House. Nitish Kumar is a CM who threatened people like me in the Council saying barbaad kar dunga (I will destroy you). He is a CM who disrespects women. There are several corruption cases during his tenure," said Singh.

Meanwhile,Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Legislative Council, Rabri Devi termed the action a “dark chapter”.

“Ye action kala adhaya hai loktantra mein (this action is a dark chapter in democracy). When the government of the poor comes, it is called jungle raj. It is murder of democracy. Everyone raises slogans, a few months back when the BJP was in the Opposition, they also used to enter the well, they also did not let the House function. The government has forgotten everything,” she said.

The decision against Singh came on the final day of the Monsoon session, meaning he will be suspended when the House reconvenes for the next session.

Watch |PM Modi inaugurates new campus of Nalanda University in Bihar's Rajgir

Nitish targeting RJD?

Notably, Singh has been a close aide of RJD chief Lalu Prasad for over 20 overs and currentlyheads theBihar State Cooperative Marketing Union.

Nitish's party Janata Dal United (JDU) and RJD were in coalition in the state up until the start of the year. However, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Nitish severed ties with RJD as well as INDI Alliance and joined his old ally, the BJP-ledNDA.

After tendering his resignation, Nitish took oath as the chief minister of Bihar with the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for a record ninth time. Since then, JDU hasbeen at loggerheads with RJD.

(With inputs from agencies)