Bihar minister Awadhesh Kushwaha resigned after he was allegedly caught in a sting operation.
Awadhesh Kushwaha, a minister in the Nitish Kumar government, has resigned after a video emerged that shows a sting operation in which he is shown accepting money allegedly in return for favours. Mr Kushwaha was the Urban Development Minister in the Bihar government.
Mr Kushwaha, the JD-U lawmaker from the Pipra assembly constituency in Bihar's West Champaran, is shown in a sting operation conducted by a little known Jai Hind Bihar which has put a link on YouTube in which he was accepting money. However, the minister's voice is not clear and a voice over the video explains that Mr Kushwaha was taking the bribe by promising contracts in the next government if the JD-U comes to power. It is also not clear in the video that who is giving the alleged bribe.
The video was tweeted by senior BJP leader and former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi. He claimed it was yet another instance of corruption in the Nitish Kumar government who prides himself on a clean image and a governance agenda.
Sources in the JD-U say Mr Kushwaha was asked to put in his papers so that no further embarrassment is caused to the party.
"I don't know where this has come from. I am being targeted by the BJP. Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh is from this area. The BJP and he cannot digest the crowd thronging to my rallies and meetings," Mr Kushwaha had told NDTV just a few hours before he resigned.