Bihar Education Minister Mewalal Choudhary resigned on Thursday, November 19, three days after taking oath amid allegations of corruption.
‘An accusation is proven only when a chargesheet is filed or a court gives an order and neither of the two is there to prove the allegations against me,’ Choudhary said.
On Wednesday, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) questioned the ruling government over the decision to elevate the tainted leader as the state Education Minister while ignoring legislators from minority communities.
‘The choice of Mewalal Choudhary as education minister makes such a loud statement about the CM’s weakened position in the new scheme of things post-verdict. A clear message has gone to Bihar that one cannot expect anything positive from the government with these kinds of choices dominating the constitution of the cabinet,’ RJD MP and spokesperson Manoj Kumar Jha told The Indian Express.
Jha said that the CM attempted to take a ‘high moral ground’ over a ‘non-case’ of corruption when he walked out of the Grand Alliance in 2017.
The case pertains to Choudhary’s tenure as vice-chancellor of Bihar Agriculture University at Sabaur in Bhagalpur.
Choudhary and nearly 50 others had been booked in 2017 under IPC sections 409, 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120B. The matter was related to alleged discrepancies in the appointment of 167 assistant-cum-junior scientists at the newly-opened agriculture university during Choudhary’s tenure as VC between 2010 and 2015.
Choudhary declared it in his 2020 election affidavit and was elected MLA from Tarapur in Munger.
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