Nitish colluding with BJP to wipe off murder taint: Lalu Last-ditch effort by Cong to keep JD-U chief on board

The PM’s tweet after (Nitish’s) resignation indicates how strong this conspiracy was to destabilise the alliance. LALU PRASAD, RJD leader

PATNA: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar decided to break the ruling alliance and go with the BJP because he is facing trial for murdering a man in 1991, RJD leader Lalu Prasad alleged on Wednesday.

Also, he asked Kumar to convene a joint session of the threeparty mahagathbandhan or grand alliance that rules Bihar and allow the legislators to elect their own leader.

“Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, nor Te jP ra tap Ya dav would be a candidate at such a meeting, provided Nitish Kumar is not himself a candidate ,” he said.

“Our claim to govern stands because we are the largest party and have a right to this chance. We will not allow President’s rule in Bihar,” Prasad said.

The RJD, JD(U) and Congress are part of Bihar’s ruling alliance that defeated the BJP in the 2015 state polls. The RJD has 80 legislators, the JD(U) 71 and Congress 27 in the assembly.

But the RJD leader doubted if Kumar would call a meeting of alliance legislators.

“I am unsure, he would take heed, labouring as he does under the fear of prosecution in the murder case,” he said.

He accused Kumar of working slyly with the BJP-led NDA to destabilise the coalition.

“The Prime Minister’s tweet after the resignation indicates how strong this conspiracy was to destabilise the alliance,” Prasad said. “It is he who back- tracked, despite our best efforts. Wasn’t he the person who said ‘mitti mein mil jayeengey, BJP key saath nahin jayeengey?”

Kumar was with the NDA for more than adecadeuntil the BJP made Narendra Modi the alliance’s PM candidate before the 2014 general election.

Confident that he could gain from a split in the JD(U) ranks at an alliance meeting, Prasad turned up the offensive against Kumar. “I say this with great responsibility that Nitish Kumar is charged with crime and the case is with the lower judiciary,” he said.

He accused the JD(U) chief of thrusting a corruption scandal on his family to hide his own wrongdoings. “With such a case in his own history, the fact that he took cognizance of an FIR by the CBI against Tejashwi is surprising. He is in cahoots with the RSS and the BJP. To say that he is against crime and corruption is a hollow claim,” Prasad said.