Bihar: I’m nobody’s ‘Hanuman’, says senior JD(S) leader RCP

PATNA: Union steel minister and senior JD(U) leader RCP Singh lost his cool when mediapersons asked him whether he was still the ‘Hanuman’ of Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, like Jamui MP Chirag Paswan used to refer himself for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“I am not ‘Hanuman’. My name is ‘Ram Chandra’. Please correct it, I am not the ‘Hanuman’ of any person,” said Singh at Jamui Sunday evening.
Singh, who is likely to lose his cabinet berth in the Modi government after his Rajya Sabha term ends on July 7, was in Jamui to participate in a private function. Once considered as number 2 in the JD(U) after its de facto leader and CM Nitish, Singh had no one from his party to welcome him in Jamui.
Till a few months before he was denied another term in the Rajya Sabha by the JD(U), Singh used to get a rousing welcome by the party workers and MLAs wherever he visited in Bihar. “Why should I speak about anyone? ... I am telling you I am not the ‘Hanuman’ of any person. I am ‘Ramchandra’,” Singh said irritably when a reporter asked him again whether he was not the ‘Hanuman’ of Nitish.
When a reporter asked about his indifference to Nitish, Singh said, “You might be knowing. I have no idea.”
When told that he was considered a strong base of the organisation in JD(U), Singh shot back, “Am I? I have no such idea. You might be knowing…. Brother, I am a very simple person.”
Before being elevated to the post of JD(U) national president in December 2020, Singh held the post of national general secretary (organisation) for many years and used to appoint the party’s state chiefs and heads of different cells.
Just a week ago, he had to vacate his Patna-based state government’s bungalow around midnight following a directive from a senior party functionary. The sprawling bungalow at 7, Strand Road was officially allotted to JD(U) chief whip in the Bihar legislative council, Sanjay Kumar Singh, but Singh and his family were living there for the last 12 years.