KC Tyagi resigns as JD (U) chief spokesperson citing personal reasons

Senior Janata Dal (United) leader KC Tyagi resigned as the party’s chief spokesperson on Sunday citing “personal reasons”. The party appointed Rajiv Ranjan Prasad as the new national spokesperson.

“The National President of Janata Dal (United), Nitish Kumar (Chief Minister, Bihar) has appointed Rajiv Ranjan Prasad as the National Spokesperson. K C Tyagi, who is in the party on the post of spokesperson, has resigned from the post of party spokesperson due to personal reason,” said a letter issued by JD (U) national general secretary Afaque Ahmed Khan.

The development comes after Tyagi’s statements on issues such as the Waqf Amendment Bill, Uniform Civil Code and the Gaza war had left leaders of the JD (U) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) red-faced.

Senior leaders said that Tyagi had made those statements without consulting the leaders and alleged that he frequently presented his personal views as if they were the views of the party. They said there were also disagreements within the NDA over his remarks.

Tyagi said, “Nothing should be read from my resignation. I had a talk with Nitish Kumar. Earlier, too, I had requested to be relieved of organisational responsibility. You must have noticed that I have kept myself away from TV debates for the past few months. I am not able to do justice to the post as a spokesperson due to other work. So, I requested him to relieve me from the post. I won my first Lok Sabha election in 1984 and had the honour of working as unofficial press advisor of former PM Chaudhary Charan Singh.”

Tyagi, however, would continue to be on the post of chief advisor to the national president, a post he was given in May 2023.

In 2020, Tyagi had wished to discontinue as the spokesperson when former Union minister R C P Singh was made the JD (U) national president. In March 2023, the JD (U) led by then president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh dropped Tyagi as the party’s national general secretary and chief spokesperson, bringing the leader’s nearly two-decade-long stint as the face of the party in the national capital to an end.

However, two months later, in May 2023, Tyagi returned as ‘special adviser and chief spokesperson’ of the party.

The 73-year-old leader was a Rajya Sabha MP from Bihar from 2013 to 2016 and was a Lok Sabha member from 1989 to 1991 from the Hapur constituency.