Patna, Nov. 26: The re-entry of Chandra Mohan Rai in the Nitish Kumar ministry is perhaps undoing of an act done on April 13, 2008, when he was dropped from the ministry. Rai, who was attending a meeting in southern India as health minister in 2008, was informed over the phone that he was no longer a minister.

The insult made him ask publicly why he was dropped. “Am I a thief or a non-performer?” he asked then.

There were no explanations given officially. Rai’s clean image and performance in the health department was one of the most flaunted achievements of the Nitish government as primary health centres of Bihar became functional and patients who once avoided the government hospitals started pouring in.

The BJP leadership gave a weak explanation stressing that Rai’s dropping did not reflect on his integrity or performance. But Rai’s replacement Bhola Prasad Singh was never considered a performer.

Janardan Singh Sigriwal has grassroots support among the Rajputs in Saran. Even he was denied a ticket in 2000 by the BJP. He later won as an Independent. “There was a hung Assembly and I was offered a ministry by the RJD. But I went straight to the BJP and declared my loyalty to it. It is the only party I will ever be with,” he had said.

Naturally, Sigriwal was hurt when he found his name in the list of dropped ministers. His performance as minister of art, culture and youth affairs had a high point when Patna hosted the national youth meet. It is ironic that the replacement of Sigriwal — Ram Prawesh Rai — has been dropped because of non-performance in the present ministry. Both Rai and Sigriwal’s ouster was reportedly due to internal BJP politics.

UK-educated Nitish Mishra was considered one of the most promising young ministers of Nitish’s ministry that took oath in 2005. He was given the Herculean task of revising 18 sick sugar mills of Bihar. He gave hope to the sick industry by trying to convince private players to take over these mills. He almost succeeded but for a Union government spanner that sugar mills must produce sugar before producing ethanol, Mishra failed.

He was abruptly shifted to disaster management department during Kosi deluge. He complained that officials were not obeying his orders and quit the ministry in March 2009. The dropping of his replacement Devesh Chandra Thakur and restoration of Mishra as a minister in the Brahmin quota is being seen as a recognition of his ability to perform well in any ministry.

given to him.

He, however, did not join his father and former CM Jagannath Mishra in bashing Nitish over the Kosi deluge.