BJP Suspends Former Union Minister Raj Kumar Singh, Issues Show-Cause Notice Over ‘Anti-Party Activities’

A Long-Brewing Conflict: From Dissent to Suspension

Singh, who joined the BJP in 2013 and won the Ara Lok Sabha seat in 2014 and 2019, had increasingly broken ranks with the party. During the campaign, he urged voters not to support candidates with “semi-criminal” backgrounds—even if fielded by the NDA.

In a strongly worded Diwali post addressed to the voters of Bihar, he urged them to reject corrupt or criminal candidates and choose NOTA if necessary.

His post directly targeted three powerful leaders:

• Samrat Chaudhary – now Deputy CM

• JDU’s Anant Singh – facing multiple cases

• RJD’s Suraj Bhan Singh – whom he called “Bihar’s No. 1 don” during his tenure as home secretary

Singh alleged that each of them had been involved in serious crimes, including murder.
“It is better to drown in shallow water than vote for such people,” he wrote.

The Power Scam Allegation: The Final Trigger

Although his explosive allegation was widely described as a “pre-poll flashpoint”, party insiders say it was actually the accumulated reason for the disciplinary action.

Singh accused the Nitish Kumar government of signing a Rs. 62,000-crore inflated power purchase agreement that allegedly benefited the Adani Group. According to him:

• Power costing Rs. 2.75 per unit was purchased at Rs. 4.16

• Land for the project was allocated at “multiple times below market value”

• Influential ministers and senior officials were involved in “gross manipulation”

• Bihar would carry an artificially inflated burden for 25 years

He claimed the project was originally meant to be executed by NTPC, as announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, but was “mysteriously shifted” to a private company.

Singh posted procurement documents on social media, calling it “a major fraud on the people of Bihar” and demanding a CBI investigation into the entire agreement.

BJP’s Response: A Rebellion Too Far

The BJP leadership viewed the remarks as a direct attack on the NDA government and its allies, particularly because:

• NDA had just secured a sweeping victory

• Singh accused serving ministers of criminal backgrounds

• He linked the power deal to corruption at the highest levels

• His public posts prompted the opposition to target the BJP and Prime Minister Modi

In the party’s view, Singh’s actions amounted to public insubordination, providing fodder to the opposition at a politically sensitive moment.

The suspension notice states that his statements “violated party discipline and damaged the organisation’s reputation.”

A Dramatic Fall for a once-key NDA figure

Raj Kumar Singh, born in 1952 and a distinguished 1975-batch IPS officer, rose to become India’s Home Secretary, later serving as Union Power Minister in the Modi government.

His transformation—from bureaucrat to senior minister to internal critic—marks one of the most dramatic political arcs in Bihar’s recent memory.

Whether Singh responds to the BJP’s show-cause notice or continues to attack the NDA leadership will determine if this break becomes permanent.

For now, the BJP has made its position clear: dissent that crosses into public confrontation will not be tolerated.