On October 2, Agriculture Minister of Bihar Sudhakar Singh submitted his resignation from the government. Sudhakar Singh is associated with former Chief Minister of Bihar and fodder scam convict Lalu Prasad Yadav’s party Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). He was appointed as agriculture minister following the formation of a collation government between Bihar CM Nitish Kumar’s party Janata Dal United (JDU) and RJD. Singh is the son of RJD president Jagadanand Singh.
#Biharpolitics : बिहार के कृषि मंत्री सुधाकर सिंह ने दिया इस्तीफा…@_Sudhaker_singh @RJDforIndia @Jduonline pic.twitter.com/lvGVTzrOkj
— Zee Bihar Jharkhand (@ZeeBiharNews) October 2, 2022
On Saturday (October 1), Singh said in a statement that he would not allow the continuation of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s agenda in his department. He was pointing out his demand to restore the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act and ‘mandi’ system in the state.
He said, “Being the state Agriculture minister, I will not allow continuation of BJP agenda in the agriculture department after the formation of the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ government in the state.” Speaking about the APMC Act and Mandi system that was scrapped in 2006, Singh said, “Scrapping the APMC Act and ‘mandi’ in 2006 was a decision that was anti-farmer in nature. The ‘Mahagathbandhan’ government in the state should work to fulfilling the promises made by our alliance partners to the electorate.”
It is noteworthy that Singh had pointed toward alleged corruption in his department. He said, “All my department officials are thieves and thereby, being head of the department, he is head of the thieves.” He had alleged that while Bihar is facing drought and paddy fields are dry, a report prepared by his department showed that paddy saplings have been planted on 86% of the fields. He said this figure is highly unrealistic and that he had raised the issue.
“There is not a single wing of our (agriculture) department that does not commit acts of theft. The government has changed, but the working style remained the same. Everything is the same as before,” he said in a public meeting.
Singh added he has sought an appointment with the Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers Mansukh Mandaviya and wants to appraise them of the need for restoration of these two laws in the country, especially in Bihar.
#SudhakerSinghExclusive : RJD कोटे से मंत्री सुधाकर सिंह का JDU पर बड़ा बयान ! #BiharPolitics #NitishKumar #TejashwiYadav pic.twitter.com/5OLwWn2Vcq
— Zee Bihar Jharkhand (@ZeeBiharNews) October 1, 2022
Recently, in September this year, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar reportedly stormed out of a meeting where Singh allegedly created a scene while confronting him with his grievances. In a statement, while expressing his concerns over the draught-like situation in the state, Singh said, “Issues which I have raised involve several departments, including disaster management, the directorate of economics and statistics, and the metrological department. Only the chief minister can solve these issues by calling a joint meeting of all the departments concerned. I just can’t solve it alone.”
He added, “There is not a single wing of our (agriculture) department that does not commit acts of theft. The government has changed, but the working style remained the same. Everything is the same as before”.
