Raghuvansh sulking, RJD puts Rama Singh’s entry on hold

PATNA

Induction of former LJP MP Rama Kishore Singh into the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has been put on hold in the wake of former union minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh tendering his resignation from the post of vice-president of the party, though it is yet to be accepted by chief Lalu Yadav.Rama Singh was scheduled to join the RJD on Monday.

“I was scheduled to join the RJD on Monday, but the programme has been cancelled due to some reason. Whenever the RJD asks me to join, I will,” said the former LJP leader, who was elected to the Bihar Assembly five times before being elected MP from Vaishali in 2014, where he trounced RJD veteran and five-term MP Raghuvansh.

Earlier this month, Rama Singh, who had quit LJP in 2019 after being denied a ticket for the Lok Sabha election, had met RJD leader Tejaswhi Prasad Yadav and before that Lalu Prasad in Ranchi. A few days ago, he even announced his imminent induction into the RJD, following which Raghuvansh Prasad shot off his resignation letter. Both Rama Singh and Raghuvansh Prasad are Rajputs with sizeable influence in the community.

While Tejashwi was not available for comment, RJD spokesman Chitranjan Gagan said Rama Singh’s induction was put on hold for the time being. ‘Raghuvansh Babu is our guardian and our entire focus is on his recovery. Today, we have got news that he has tested negative. After five days, there will be another test. Any decision regarding Rama Singh will be taken by the party high command,” he said.

Rahuvansh Prasad, who was down with Covid-19, has recovered, though he will remain in hospital for another few days. He was admitted to AIIMS-Patna after testing positive on June 17.Last week, five RJD MLCs had left the party and joined the JD-U the same day Raghuvansh Praasad Singh resigned.