RCP Singh with supporters while announcing his resignation from the Janata Dal (United).
Former union minister RCP Singh today quit the Janata Dal (United) after a series of snubs from the party boss, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who was unhappy ever since he took a spot in Narendra Modi's cabinet last year without his consent. Mr Singh had to leave that berth last month after the JDU denied him another term in the Rajya Sabha.
"There's a conspiracy against me because I'd become union minister," said Mr Singh, a former IAS officer who was once the national president of JDU, "I'll just say that there's no cure to jealousy."
"Nitish Kumar will not become Prime Minister in any of his seven lives," he said, describing the JDU as a sinking ship.
Mr Kumar has been opposed to the BJP's offer of "token representation" to allies at the Centre. But RCP Singh had apparently dealt directly with the BJP leadership, bypassing him. Relations between the two parties, though partners in Bihar's ruling alliance, haven't been particularly cordial lately.
Mr Singh made the announcement — that he's resigning from party membership — at his village in Nalanda, where he's been camping over the past few days to strengthen his base.
In the latest snub to him earlier this week, the JDU sought a reply from Mr Singh on properties he's acquired in the last nine years. This came days after videos emerged in which RCP Singh is present amid slogans that he'll become chief minister.
"They made a big deal about the slogans. What's wrong with some people raising slogans? [Nitish Kumar] just cannot tolerate such a thing," Mr Singh said today.
He denied the party's allegations that there are irregularities in his property deals. "These properties belong to my wife and other dependents, who have been paying due tax since 2010," he said. "I don't kniw what the party wanted to investigate. I have nothing to hide."
In June, he'd been evicted out of a spacious bungalow in Patna's VIP zone. Since his resignation from PM Modi's cabinet in July, he has been at his native village and touring nearby areas.