Patna: The ruling Janata Dal United (JD-U) in Bihar on Sunday expelled the party’s general secretary, Rajiv Raut, over his alleged close relationship with the main accused in the rape and abuse of minors at a shelter home in the state.
The JD-U leadership, headed by chief minister Nitish Kumar, acted against the party official shortly after it came to light that Raut enjoys very good relations with Brajesh Thakur, the main accused in the Muzaffarpur came home sex scandal.
Raut who was associated with the party’s youth wing happens to be the son of former social welfare minister Damodar Raut.
As per reports, the dismissed JD-U official had been frequenting Muzaffarpur town and also staying in a hotel owned by the Thakur.
“We have expelled Raut for his closeness with the sex scandal’s main accused. He is no longer with the party,” JD-U lawmaker and state youth wing chief Abhay Kushwaha told journalists.
Raut is the second JD-U official facing the axe over the rape and abuse debacle.
Earlier this month, social welfare minister Manju Verma resigned from her post after the name of her husband surfaced in the sex scandal now being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Verma is in fresh trouble as the CBI has registered a case, following the recovery of 50 live cartridges from her home during the raids conducted last week.
That is in addition to her husband being investigated by the CBI in the sex abuse case.
Yet another NDA minister Suresh Sharma has come under fire for his alleged closeness with the rape accused, with both the state ruling party’s leaders and the opposition seeking his resignation.
Sharma, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, happens to be urban development minister in the Nitish Kumar government.
The ruling coalition faced embarrassing moments when former JD-U minister Verma sought his resignation at a public meeting.
“If [one] had to resign on moral grounds, the same yardstick should apply for the BJP minister too,” Verma said, asking deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi to ensure resignation of his cabinet colleague.
She alleged she was being targeted as she came from the backward community and threatened to stage a sit-in if the action was not taken against Sharma. Sharma asked his former cabinet colleague to control her anger and exercise restraint claiming he was innocent.
But the issue has given fresh ammunition to the opposition to target the ruling coalition.
“Manju Verma who resigned as social welfare minister has sought the resignation of her cabinet colleague Suresh Sharma. That means she is aware about the complicity of Sharma in the sex scandal. If Verma is asked to resigned, how can Sharma be allowed to continue?,” said Bihar opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav.
