Tejashwi flips the script on NDA's charge of dynasty politics, advises Nitish to ‘form damad aayog'
Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has launched a scathing attack on Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, accusing him of practising the very 'dynasty politics' that the JD(U) chief publicly condemns.
Three sons-in-law of Union and state ministers, the wife of the principal secretary to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, and both daughters of Janata Dal (United) working president Sanjay Jha are among the government appointees who have raised eyebrows.
New Delhi: Dynasty politics has again taken center stage in Bihar's pre-poll battleground after the appointments of several relatives of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leaders to key government positions and commissions.
The issue has triggered a fierce exchange between the ruling party and the Opposition in the state, threatening to overshadow the upcoming assembly elections later this year.
Taking a dig at Nitish, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has called for the formation of a 'permanent damad aayog (commission for sons-in-law)', alleging that family ties, not merit, have driven the latest appointments.
Tejashwi also cited a Ministry of Law and Justice order dated 9 October 2024 to highlight the appointments of Adya and Satya Jha, the daughters of Sanjay Jha, as Supreme Court Group A legal counsels—roles typically reserved for senior advocates—for a three-year term.
'Normally, very senior legal professionals, with more than twenty years of experience, are appointed. But, JD(U) working president Sanjay Jha has used his position to place his daughters on the panel,' Tejashwi Yadav told the media. 'Nitish Kumar has not promoted honest leaders and workers for appointments in different commissions,' the RJD leader added, calling out the hypocrisy of JD(U), which has, over the years, repeatedly criticised the Lalu family and RJD for dynastic politics.
The family of Sanjay Jha has become the latest to get embroiled in the ongoing row over 'dynasty politics'.
Tejashwi Yadav has also taken jabs at Nitish Kumar for appointing the son-in-law of Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi as SC Commission vice-chairman, son-in-law of the late Ram Vilas Paswan as SC Commission chairperson, son-in-law of Cabinet Minister Ashok Choudhary as a member of Dharmik Nyas Board, and the principal secretary's wife to the Bihar State Women Commission.
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Dynasties & appointments
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar appointed Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi's son-in-law, Devendra Manjhi, as vice-chairperson of the SC Commission. He has previously served as the general secretary of Manjhi's Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and unsuccessfully contested the 2020 assembly election from Bihar's Makhdumpur.
Among Manjhi's seven sons and daughters, others are also active in politics—one son, Santosh Suman, serves as a minister in the Bihar government, his daughter-in-law Deepa Suman is the Imamganj MLA, and her mother, Jyoti Devi, is the Barachatti MLA.
Devendra Manjhi first came into the news in 2014 when Jitan Ram Manjhi, then Chief Minister of Bihar, appointed him as his private assistant and another relative, Satendra Kumar, as a clerk.
The Nitish Kumar government has also appointed Union Minister Chirag Paswan's brother-in-law—Mrinal Paswan—as the chairman of the Bihar SC Commission. Mrinal, the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) general secretary, unsuccessfully contested the 2020 assembly election from Raja Pakar in Vaishali.
Mrinal Paswan is married to one of the daughters of the late Ram Vilas Paswan with his first wife, Rajkumari Devi. Chirag Paswan, on the other hand, is the son of the Lok Janshakti Party founder with his first wife, Reena Sharma.
Rajkumari Devi came into the news cycle this year after she alleged humiliation by Shobha Devi, the wife of ex-minister and Ram Vilas Paswan's younger brother, Pashupati Kumar Paras, over a property dispute.
The last of the three sons-in-law embroiled in the 'dynasty politics' controversy is Saayan Kunal, whom the Nitish government appointed as a member of the Dharmik Nyas Board, constituted last week.
Nitish Cabinet Minister Ashok Choudhary's son-in-law Saayan Kunal was born to the late IPS officer Kishore Kunal. His wife, Shambhavi Choudhary, became a Lok Sabha MP on an LJP ticket from Samastipur in the 2024 general elections. The late Kishore Kunal, on his retirement from the police service, was instrumental in establishing the Mahavir Cancer Hospital and the Mahavir Hanuman Temple in Patna.
Incidentally, all three leaders, whose sons-in-law the Nitish government has appointed to one or the other government berth, hailed from the Dalit community and feature among the prominent Dalit leaders in Bihar.
The appointment of Rashmi Rekha Sinha, Nitish's Principal Secretary Deepak Kumar's wife, as a member of the Bihar State Women Commission was not made public in the 7 June commission notification, which named seven other members, their husbands, and their addresses. When the Bihar government appointed Rashmi Rekha Sinha, the name of her father, but not her husband, appeared in the notification. Her address was also not disclosed in what seemed to be a move to hide her relationship with the principal secretary.
Earlier, the RJD alleged that retired bureaucrat Deepak Kumar was running Bihar. According to Buxar RJD MP Sudhakar Singh, the Nitish government sanctioned Rs 25 crore to the private company owned by Deepak's daughter Isha Verma.
Last month, Sudhakar Singh claimed that the Rs 25 crore announced under the Bihar Green Development Fund in the 2024-25 Bihar Budget was to directly benefit her company, Bodhi Centre for Sustainable Growth Private Limited, established only a couple of months before the allocation. The company now has the responsibility to implement green development in the state.
JD(U) response
RJD, the principal opposition party, has raised questions about Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, with Tejashwi Yadav saying, 'The chief minister has no control over his administration, and retired officers are ruling the state … It is ironic that the Chief Minister did not find any workers in his party who could become chairpersons and members of commissions.'
'The chief minister should disclose how many family members he has accommodated in government bodies in the last few years,' he added.
Speaking to ThePrint, RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari said, 'Nitish Kumar claims he does not promote dynasty politics—his main poll plank. Yet, he has adjusted all the 'damads' and even the wife of his principal secretary as board members. Now, he has no plank left. Officers are looting the state and adjusting their family in key positions pre-poll, knowing they will not come into power again.'
Responding to the RJD charges, Ashok Choudhary defended the appointment of Mrinal Paswan to the SC commission while attacking Tejashwi Yadav, saying he became Bihar's deputy CM without educational qualifications. 'Let me remind him, Mrinal ji (Mrinal Paswan) has been active in politics and contesting elections since the time Tejashwi ji was still roaming around in half-pants. It is a different matter that he did not win, but he remained politically active. Back then, Tejashwi had no understanding of politics. Even today, we know little about his education. Yet, he became the deputy chief minister,' Choudhary said.
JD(U) spokesperson Rajeev Ranjan Singh told ThePrint, 'It was RJD leader Lalu Prasad who promoted his wife as chief minister, both sons as ministers, and daughter as MP. Their only credentials were that they were his wife and children. Nitish has never promoted dynasty politics in his entire life. The current appointees have, for long, been active in politics and are not comparable with the Lalu family.'
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
Also Read: Family matters in Bihar's Dalit politics—Manjhis to Paswans, how kin are rising up the ladder
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