Senior JD(U) leader Upendra Kushwaha on Tuesday said that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar made him chairman of JD(U) parliamentary board without any power and infact it was only for the worth of its name.
Kushwaha told media persons here that on request from Chief Minister Kumar, he had merged his party RLSP into JD(U) after the last Bihar Assembly Elections held in 2020.
At that time, Kumar had announced to make him chairman of the JD(U) parliamentary board but there was no provision for such post in the party constitution, he added.
” Certainly, amendment in party constitution was made later to make provision of parliamentary board chairman “, JD(U) leader said, adding that as per provision in an amendment, chairman of the parliamentary board was to be nominated by the party president. The chairman of parliamentary board was not given power to nominate members of the board and they were also to be nominated by party president, he added.
Kushwaha said that in such a situation, he was chairman of the JD(U) parliamentary board without having any power. He was not even consulted before finalising candidates for Assembly by-elections and Bihar Legislative Council elections from local bodies quota, he lamented.
JD(U) leader said he was expecting that he would get the opportunity to discharge his responsibility as chairman of the parliamentary board of the party but in reality, it did not happen at all. It was a great frustration for him that he was not allowed to protect the interest of party workers aspiring for a greater role to play, he pointed out.