New Delhi: The former Union minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader R.K. Singh resigned on Saturday, hours after he was suspended by the party for indulging in anti-party activities. The decision came a after the NDA alliance secured a landslide victory in the Bihar assembly election.
Singh, a former MP from Arrah in Bihar, over the past few months, had been critical of the BJP as well as the NDA leadership and had levelled a series of charges against the Nitish Kumar-led government in Bihar.
“I have received a letter forwarded by some members of the media (copy enclosed) stating that the party has decided to suspend me for anti-party activities. and asking as to why I should not be expelled from party. The letter does not specify the anti party activities of which I have been accused. I cannot give a show cause against charges which have not been specified. The show cause is probably because of my statement against distribution of tickets to people with a criminal background. The statement is not anti party. It is in the interest of the nation; the society at large and the party to stop criminalisation of politics and to curb corruption but it appears that some people in the party are not comfortable with this. I have given a reply to the state BJP office. I hereby resign from the primary membership of the Bhartiya Janta Party,” he wrote in his resignation letter to the party.
His accusation regarding a scam in the commissioning of a power plant in Bihar had created a political controversy days before the assembly polls in the state.
“You are indulging in anti-party activities. This falls within the scope of discipline. The party has taken this seriously. This has caused harm to the party. Therefore, as directed, you are being suspended from the party and asked to explain why you should not be expelled from the party. Therefore, please clarify your position within a week of receiving this letter,” the BJP said in a notice to Singh Saturday morning.
Earlier this month, alleging a huge cost escalation in a thermal power project commissioned by the Bihar government to be developed by Adani Power, Singh had urged the state government to cancel the long-term electricity procurement deal.
Singh, who has been at odds with his own party, the BJP, over the past year, asserted that any disciplinary action against him will “only prove” that it is “hand in glove” with corrupt people.
In an interview to ThePrint, Singh had said if the BJP takes action against him for exposing corruption, it would only prove the party’s complicity (in the alleged scam).
In October, he asked Bihar’s deputy chief minister Samrat Chaudhary, health minister Mangal Pandey, and Bihar BJP president Dilip Jaiswal to respond to accusations raised by Jan Suraaj Party leader Prashant Kishor ahead of assembly elections in the state.
Kishor had alleged that Chaudhary lied about his age and education in the poll affidavit, and Pandey and Jaiswal were named in corruption and cheating cases. The three leaders denied the accusations.
A former diplomat, Singh had served as home secretary during Manmohan Singh’s tenure. He had also served as the secretary in the Department of Defence Production between 2009 and 2011. In 2013, he retired and joined the BJP. He was elected MP from Arrah twice—in 2014 and 2019.
He served as Minister of State (Independent charge) for Power and New and Renewable Energy (2017-2024). He also served as Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship between 2019 and 2024. He was elevated to Cabinet rank in July 2024.
Singh, a 1975 batch IAS officer of the Bihar cadre, had contested the 2024 Lok Sabha election from the Arrah constituency of Bihar, and had claimed last year that there was a conspiracy that led to his poll defeat. He said he had shared the names of those behind the plot with the BJP’s senior leadership and warned that the NDA alliance should not field those individuals in the Bihar elections, failing which he would “act accordingly”.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
Also read: ‘Asked Bihar govt about Rs 62k cr power plant scam, was told all hunky-dory’—ex-Union minister RK Singh
