Kushwaha quits NDA - and as Minister

RLSP leader Upendra Kushwaha on Monday quit the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and as a Union Minister, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi had betrayed the people of Bihar.

Kushwaha, who has been at loggerheads with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for some time, also accused the Modi government of "promoting the RSS agenda".

The Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) leader sent his resignation to Modi saying he (Modi) had betrayed the people of Bihar.

"Having served in your Council of Ministers for the last 55 months, I stand dejected and betrayed by your leadership," he said in the letter sent to Modi.

"There has been a fundamental conflict in what you have promised to the people before elections and what you have actually delivered after coming to power."

Addressing the media later, he accused the BJP government of "promoting the RSS agenda".

"The government has been working to the agenda of RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh) which is anti-constitutional, neglecting and subverting the agenda of social justice enshrined in the Constitution for which we supported the NDA," said Kushwaha, who was a Minister of State for Human Resource Development in the Modi government.

Citing examples, Kushawha said many people with RSS background had been made Vice Chancellors across the country.

Asked if he would join an opposition alliance or merge his party with Sharad Yadav's Loktantrik Janata Dal or work for a third alternative in Bihar, he said: "All options are open for us. We would be taking a call in the coming days."

--IANS

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