Deputy chairman of Bihar Legislative Council Salim Parwez (left) and its outgoing chairman, Tarakant Jha, release a book in Patna on Sunday. Picture by Ashok Sinha

It was a low-key farewell for a man who has been an active member of the RSS from 1944.

The row meant for ministers wore an empty look and less than 20 sitting MLCs were present on Sunday to bid farewell to the outgoing chairman of the state Legislative Council, Tarakant Jha.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was absent and so was his deputy, Sushil Kumar Modi.

“Modiji is engaged in the BJP meet in Begusarai,” said BJP MLC Ram Kishore Singh. Incidentally, the chief minister arrived late from Delhi and could not attend the function.

The programme, held on the last day of Jha’s tenure, was not even hosted by MLCs. It was called by Jha himself. “It is a get together,” Jha said, while thanking all the MLCs for the help they had extended to him in his 27-month tenure.

While addressing the gathering, Jha declared that he would keep his word of not uttering a word on why he was denied a ticket, as long as he is chairman of council. But there was little relief for the BJP. His tenure ended on Sunday midnight.

Jha, during his speech, even took pot shots at the BJP. “It’s the BJP that made me chairman of the House and I thank the party. But now the post has been taken away from me and the party should clarify if I succeeded or failed as the chairman of the house,” he said.

The veteran leader, however, did not fail to thank Nitish for making him the chairman of the House despite the fact that the JD(U) had a majority in the Council.

The outgoing chairman’s message to the Council was loud and clear. “I have no intention of going to the mountains with my kamandal. I will remain in touch with society and I am willing to take any responsibility given to me,” he said, making it clear that he would not fade away.

Speakers cutting across party line praised Jha for the way he ran the House during his tenure and always functioned impartially. They were particularly lavish in their praise for the way Jha conducted the year-long Bihar Divas celebrations and had called the President, the vice-president and eminent dignitaries to a series of functions to celebrate the 100th year of both the council and the state.

The BJP denied Jha a renewed tenure on the basis of the fact that he had already completed two tenures. Even though Jha vowed to remain silent as long as he was the chairman of the House. His followers charged the party with adopting double standards and pointed out that another senior leader, Ganga Prasad, has been an MLC for 17 years and BJP national spokesperson Ravishankar Prasad had been given a third tenure in the Rajya Sabha.

Jha’s followers blamed the deputy chief minister for playing the “key role” in denying Jha a renewal.

From Tuesday, deputy chairman of the House and JD(U) MLC Salim Parwez would be the acting chairman of the Council. The BJP has ended up with uncertainty over the post being offered to them again by the JD(U) and a possibly vocal and bitter Jha.