Tejashwi's jibe at JDU's Health Dept; Nishant Kumar vows transparency

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav took a sharp jibe at the JDU over the Bihar Health Dept's functioning. Meanwhile, newly appointed Health Minister Nishant Kumar assumed charge, stressing transparency, accountability, and corruption-free governance.

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav on Friday took a sharp jibe at the functioning of the Bihar Health Department, targeting the Janata Dal (United) leadership. Speaking on Bihar Minister Nishant Kumar, Tejashwi Yadav remarked that decision-making within the Health Department appears to be concentrated in the hands of a few individuals within the JDU. "The three to four people in JDU will run the Health Department. Who else will run it?," Yadav told reporters.

New Health Minister Vows Transparency

The comments came after Bihar's newly appointed Health Minister Nishant Kumar on Friday assumed charge of his office in Patna and stressed transparency, accountability, and corruption-free governance in the state's health system. "Today is my first day. I have come to join the office. I discussed with the officials, and I emphasised maintaining transparency, honesty, and integrity within the health department. I have told everyone that corruption will not be tolerated... We have to work honestly and ensure good health care for the people," Kumar told the reporters.

The minister, son of former Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, also said he would focus on improving healthcare delivery and strengthening public health infrastructure across the state. Earlier, Nishant Kumar had said he would approach his responsibilities with sincerity, stating that he would "try to fulfil my responsibility with complete truthfulness and honesty" and work towards "better health facilities" for the people of Bihar.

Nitish Kumar's close aide and JD(U) MP Sanjay Kumar Jha welcomed Nishant Kumar's entry into the cabinet, expressing confidence in his performance. Jha said the decision reflected the party's internal requirement for capable leadership and added that he believed "under his leadership, there will be good work in the health department."

NDA Government's Cabinet Expansion

Nishant Kumar's appointment comes as part of a major cabinet expansion in Bihar, where 32 ministers were inducted into the Council of Ministers in a grand ceremony at Gandhi Maidan in Patna. The expansion follows the formation of the NDA government in the state after a decisive electoral mandate.

As part of the expansion, leaders from the BJP (15), Janata Dal (United) (13), Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) (2), Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) (1) and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (1) were inducted into the Council of Ministers.

New Ministers Take Oath

The BJP ministers who took oath include Ram Kripal Yadav, Kedar Gupta, Nitish Mishra, Mithlesh Tiwari, Rama Nishad, Vijay Kumar Sinha, Dilip Jaiswal, Pramod Chandravanshi, Lakhvinder Paswan, Sanjay Singh (Tiger), Engineer Kumar Shailendra, Nand Kishore Ram, Ramchandra Prasad, Arun Shankar Prasad and Shreyasi Singh.

The JD(U) ministers who took oath include Nishant Kumar, Shravan Kumar, Madan Sahni, Lesi Singh, Shweta Gupta, Bhagwan Singh Kushwaha, Damodar Rawat and Bulo Mandal. (ANI)

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