Bihar minister Shyam Rajak sacked, expelled from JDU

Amid widespread speculation that Bihar Industries Minister Shyam Rajak is planning to return to the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the state's ruling Janata Dal-United on Sunday dropped him from the Nitish Kumar government and expelled him from the party.

JD-U General Secretary Naveen Kumar Arya, in a statement, announced that state party President Vasistha Narayan Singh has expelled Rajak, the MLA from the reserved Phulwari Assembly constituency.

A Raj Bhavan communique, said that the Governor, on the advice of the Chief Minister, has removed Rajak from the Council of Ministers.

According to speculations on Sunday, Rajak, a prominent Dalit leader, has been angry with the party for ignoring him, and decided to quit. He was expected to tender his resignation this week.

Sources also added that he has made up his mind and he would not change his decision. The JD-U action is seen as a more to forestall his quitting.

A one-time close associate of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad and a minister in the Rabri Devi government, Rajak had joined the JD-U in 2009. Elected on its ticket in the 2010 Assembly polls, he became a minister in the Nitish Kumar government too.