I will quit JD(U) if party desires: Ajay Alok
Patna: Disgruntled JD(U) leader Ajay Alok on Thursday said he was prepared to resign from the primary membership of the party, if it so desired.
His reaction comes a day after a party communication informed media outlets that Alok had ceased to be a party spokesman and his utterances must be taken as his "personal opinion" and not the "official line" of the party.
Several media outlets had been airing Alok's views, which were causing embarassment to the JD(U). Alok has of late been adopting a stance in line with BJP hardliners.
The party communication was issued by JD(U) spokesman Rajiv Ranjan Prasad on Wednesday shortly after Alok had come out with a tweet in which he ended up berating the JD(U) while stressing the need for the NDA remaining intact.
"For the BJP it is not of great consequence to remain in power in Bihar. But, this alliance must remain intact in the interests of Bihar and in view of the JD(U) proclaiming to be the big brother in the coalition, the onus is on us," Alok had tweeted.
He was reacting to the recent acrimony witnessed between the coalition partners which was followed by leaders of the saffron party skipping the Dussehra festivities organized at the Gandhi Maidan where the chief minister shared the dais with opposition leaders like state Congress president Madan Mohan Jha.
Once considered to be a favourite of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar because of the combativeness he brought on the table at on-screen debates, Alok seems to have fallen out of favour with Kumar, who also heads the JD(U).
However, stung by the release issued by Rajiv Ranjan Prasad, Alok again took to the micro-blogging site to state that he has felt slighted.
"I had resigned from the post of party spokesman after having given a statement about Mamata Banerjee having converted West Bengal into a mini Pakistan. But I had not quit the party. Now if the party desires, I would resign from the partys primary membership as well. If I am causing so much of discomfiture, I may be expelled," said Alok indignantly.
"My 'mahimamandan' (lionization) would only harm the party," he added sarcastically, sharing newspaper clippings of the JD(U) statement.
A doctor by training, Alok has been one of the most visible faces of the JD(U) in the national media by virtue of his proficiency in English as well as Hindi.
His accusation of the West Bengal chief minister having converted her state into "mini Pakistan" an allusion to the illegal immigration problem had caused huge embarrassment to the JD(U), which does not share the BJPs hard line on the issue.
After resigning as the JD(U) spokesman, Alok had attacked his own party for having opposed the triple talaq bill and the legislation brought in Parliament for reorganization of Jammu and Kashmir after the northern state was stripped of its special status.
