You have reduced Cabinet into a mere rubber stamp: Upendra Kushwaha accuses PM Narendra Modi in resignation letter

RLSP chief Upendra Kushwaha has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of reducing the Union Cabinet to a "mere rubber stamp" by concentrating all decisions in himself, his office and the BJP chief. The accusation was part of Kushwaha's letter of resignation from the Union Cabinet.

Kushwaha quit the Modi cabinet on Monday after weeks of discontent over seat allocations for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Bihar. Kushwaha's Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP) had been allotted two seats as part of the NDA, with the BJP and JDU taking 19 each of the remaining seats. RLSP had contested three seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. Kushwaha had made his displeasure clear, saying his party should be given more seats as its base had grown since the last election.

His resignation letter was a stinging broadside at the Prime Minister. "… your opaque style of functioning and non democratic leadership style has left me disappointed and dismayed. You have systemically dismantled the functioning of the cabinet of the government that is mandated in our constitution. The Union Cabinet has been reduced to a mere rubber stamp, simply endorsing your decision without any deliberation. Ministers and officers posted in ministries have become figureheads as virtually all decisions are taken by you, your office and the BJP President. (Which is anti-constitutional)," his letter read.

Read full text of the letter.

He also accused Modi of using investigative agencies to harass political leaders who disagreed with his views. "It is unfortunate that priority of the government is not to work for the poor and the oppressed but to fix political opponents by hook or by crook. Investigating agencies are being remote controlled by your office and the BJP President with the sole purpose of harassing leaders with contrarian views. Constitutional offices are being undermined and virtually every institution in the government has been subjected to political appropriation," Kushwaha said in his letter.

He also accused the Modi government of failing to keep its promises especially in the context of Bihar. He referred to the BJP's promise of special economic status for Bihar as the "biggest jumla", and accused the JDU-BJP combine of misgoverning the state.

Kushwaha's exit from the NDA has been months in the making. He had met RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav in October, just days before BJP chief Amit Shah announced the seat sharing formula for the NDA in Bihar. At the time, Kushwaha had termed the meeting 'coincidental' and said people were free to draw their own conclusions.