Bihar Encounter Sparks Rift Within NDA, Parties Express Contrasting Views

The encounter of Bharat Bhushan Tiwari of Bilauti village in Bhojpur district had many shades of the NDA. For the first time, there was less opposition to any action of the government and more opposition by the ruling parties. There are five NDA constituents in the state. All parties could not agree on this matter. Whether it was the effect of vote politics or the discontent of the constituents, this episode has badly broken the perception of the unity of the NDA. As soon as the encounter took place on June 16, BJP leader and Education Minister Mithilesh Tiwari, former Union Minister Ashwini Choubey and BJP National Minister Rituraj Sinha had a quick reaction. All these three condemned the police action, but also expressed confidence that the government of Samrat Chaudhary would definitely punish the culprits. Ashwini Choubey even went to Bilauti village and opened a front against the police. JDU National President and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Kumar Jha described the encounter as suspicious. After the announcement of a judicial inquiry into the incident, NDA leaders called the founder of the Hindustani Awam Morcha, but Manjhi continued to call it a victory.