Gone in 2 hrs: Tainted Bihar education minister quits
Madan.Kumar@timesgroup.com
Patna: 20.11.2020
Bihar’s newly appointed education minister Mewalal Choudhary, who is an accused in a recruitment scam during his tenure as vice chancellor of Bihar Agricultural University (BAU) from 2010 to 2015, resigned within two hours of assuming charge on Thursday, earning the unflattering distinction of being the shortest-serving minister in the state.
His resignation comes just three days after his induction in the cabinet triggered sustained criticism by the opposition led by Tejashwi Prasad Yadav’s RJD, reminding CM Nitish Kumar of his “zero-tolerance policy” on corruption. Soon after Choudhary resigned, Tejashwi held Nitish responsible for appointing a tainted MLA in his cabinet. “Responsibility lies with you (Nitish). Why did you make him a minister?” he tweeted.
Mewalal-CM meeting lasted 30 min
Governor Phagu Chauhan accepted Choudhary’s resignation with immediate effect, and the building construction department minister Ashok Choudhary was given the additional charge of education.
Earlier in the day, Mewalal reached the new secretariat around 12.30pm and assumed charge of his ministry and held his first meeting with the department’s senior officers. “In the meantime, the minister received a call from the chief minister’s office. He was asked to rush to the CM house and meet Nitish Kumar. Within half an hour, we received information that the new minister has been asked to quit,” a senior official in the education department told TOI.
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