Bihar's ex-minister Parveen Amanullah joins AAP

Cites 'limitations in the prevailing system' for quitting Nitish Kumar's party and joining Kejriwal

In what could boost the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s electoral prospects in Bihar, former state social welfare minister, Parveen Amanullah, joined the party on Thursday.

“I wanted to be a part of this movement. I contacted the party and they accepted my offer,” Amanullah said in a press conference here.

Amanullah had resigned from Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s cabinet and also quit the Janata Dal (United) [JD(U)] on Tuesday. “I believe people’s participation is a must for effective administration, which was not happening (in Bihar). There are a lot of flaws in the citizen participation model there. Normal governance is an issue,” said Amanullah.

The AAP had developed a “swaraj” model for citizen participation while fighting elections in Delhi whereby the views of people in the constituency would be taken into account while taking decisions on local issues.

Amanullah admitted that there was corruption prevalent in the “lower levels” of the JD(U) government in Bihar. She also said that governance does not function effectively when the chief minister holds complete power. “That is the state of affairs in Bihar, too,” she said.

Amanullah said she was ready to contest Lok Sabha elections in Bihar, but only if AAP agreed.

Amanullah won from the Sahebpur Kamal constituency in Bihar in the 2010 assembly elections. Wife of senior IAS officer Afzal Amanullah, she was convener of the Right to Information Manch in the state before becoming a minister.