Nitish Kumar quits as Bihar CM; Twitterati praises JD(U) leader's decision

Prime Minister lauds him for taking a stand against corruption

Amid the prevailing tension in the Bihar Grand Alliance, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar submitted his resignation to the state governor Keshri Nath Tripathi, citing differences with ally RJD on the issue of corruption charges against Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav. Kumar’s decision to quit was taken at a meeting of JD(U) MLAs today evening. 
 

"In the circumstances that prevail in Bihar, it became difficult to run the grand alliance government. I tried to keep the ‘Grand Alliance’ but can’t work in this atmosphere anymore." Nitish told reporters outside Raj Bhavan. Nitish has made it clear that he will not compromise on the issue of corruption.
 

The JD(U) chief said he had tried to hold the grand alliance in the state together but had not asked Tejashwi Yadav to step down as the deputy chief minister.
 

This development comes weeks after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had registered a corruption case against the RJD supremo, his wife Rabri Devi and son Tejashwi on allegations of giving the tender for development, maintenance and operation of hotels in Ranchi and Puri in 2006.
 

The resignation of Nitish Kumar throws the politics of Bihar into chaos with no party having a majority in the 243-member Assembly. Kumar's JD(U) has 71 seats, while RJD headed by Tejashwi Yadav's father Lalu Prasad, has 80. The BJP has 53.  Nitish Kumar, who led the grand alliance was sworn in on November 20, 2015.
 

Prime Minister lauded Nitish Kumar for resigning as the Bihar Chief Minister. Modi tweets in support of Nitish supports him for joining India's fight against corruption.
 

As soon as the news of Nitish Kumar quitting as the CM of Bihar spread, social media was buzzing with opinions. The resignation of Nitish Kumar soon became a trending topic on Twitter. While most of the users hailed the decision, others took a jibe on the breaking of ‘Grand alliance’.
 

Here’s how Twitterati reacted to this development: