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Our Correspondent in Patna
Bihar Finance Minister Shankar Prasad Tekriwal on Monday resigned from the Rabri Devi ministry, causing a fresh setback to the Rashtriya Janata Dal government in the state.
Tekriwal put in his papers in the evening and promptly demanded that Rabri Devi step down since Laloo Yadav is the de facto chief minister of Bihar.
"I am resigning because of the lack of development in the state," Tekriwal said.
This is the first major blow to Laloo Yadav in the state assembly after RJD member of Parliament Ranjan Yadav raised a banner of revolt against the Rabri Devi government.
Interestingly, Tekriwal took part in the debate on the floor of assembly to defend his budget, and hence his decision to revolt has taken everyone by surprise.
Tekriwal, a senior minister, has been associated with Laloo Yadav for the last one decade, and was elected to the assembly from Saharasa in North Bhiar. He has been handling different ministries under Laloo Yadav, and took over the finance department when Laloo Yadav went to jail in 1997.
One of his relatives was abducted by some criminal gang recently in North Bihar, and he had been at the government's inability to help him. This also led him to suspect the RJD's own involvement in the incident, sources said, which could have led to his estrangement from the party.
Interestingly, Tekriwal was the only state cabinet minister to have met Ranjan Yadav on Holi day, when the latter was in Patna.
Meanwhile, reacting to the resignation, Laloo Yadav said the RJD executive would meet later in the evening, and discuss this fresh crisis.
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