Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday broke his silence on the arrest of Janata Dal (U) MLA Anant Singh, saying the rule of law would prevail in the State and he was not under pressure from anyone.
His clarification comes after Lalu Prasad, chief of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, an ally of the ruling JD (U), said the Mokama MLA had been arrested after he mounted pressure on the government.
“In such issues, I don’t come under anyone’s pressure … As long as I am here, the rule of law will prevail in Bihar. My government neither implicates anyone nor saves anyone … Everyone is equal before the law…,” Mr. Kumar said.
He said the arrest had nothing to do with the coming Assembly elections.
After Mr. Anant Singh was arrested on Wednesday night and remanded in judicial custody for 14 days, Mr. Prasad told presspersons that the government had acted because of his intervention. “Yes, I spoke to Nitish Kumar on the phone and asked him to take action against the MLA and it was done. The MLA reaped what he sowed,” said Mr. Prasad, who, ahead of the Assembly election, could not have ignored the killing of a Yadav youth in a constituency where the Yadavs and the Bhumihars have been locked in a political tussle for long.
The newly married Putush Yadav, aka Pawan Yadav, was killed after he was abducted along with three others allegedly by the henchmen of Mr. Anant Singh on June 17. The others were freed.
The district administration denied permission for a public meeting planned by the expelled RJD MP Pappu Yadav at Barh for Saturday in protest against the killing. .
