Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad yesterday called former ally and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar a “big opportunist” for dumping the Grand Alliance and reiterated that the Janata Dal (United) chief was facing a murder charge and should resign.
Addressing the media after Nitish Kumar took oath as chief minister at the head of a JD-U-BJP government, Lalu Prasad accused Nitish Kumar of “conspiring” with the BJP to get graft cases filed against his family by central investigation agencies.
Lalu Prasad also said that he was planning to approach the Supreme Court to appeal against the governor’s decision not to invite the RJD.
“Nitish Kumar has cheated the people of Bihar. I charge that he (Nitish Kumar) colluded with the BJP to file Central Bureau of Investigation cases against me and my family,” Lalu Prasad told reporters here after appearing before a CBI court in a fodder scam case.
He said that BJP leader Sushil Modi, who was sworn in as deputy chief minister, was asked to run a campaign to damage the image of his family members.
The CBI, enforcement directorate and the income tax department have filed cases of corruption against the family members of Lalu Prasad, including his wife Rabri Devi, his youngest son Tejashwi Yadav, who was Bihar deputy chief minister until Wednesday, and daughter Misa Bharti.
“I made him the chief minister despite my party being the single biggest party in the state. I was not selfish,” Lalu said.
“When I was facing allegations, Nitish never called me or showed any sympathy. Friends are known to be sympathetic during tough times, but Nitish never paid heed towards me,” he claimed.
“Everything was fixed,” Lalu Prasasd said, adding, “He is a very big opportunist. The mandate we got was against the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. We jointly made them return empty handed from Bihar (during the 2015 Assembly election).”
“He used to say that he will never compromise with communal forces and used to swear that he will not return to BJP. This is a huge betrayal for the people of Bihar and for us,” the RJD chief said.
“We had a five-year mandate against the BJP and the RSS. Now how will he (Nitish) show his face to the people of Bihar?” the former chief minister questioned.
Lalu also claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah were “jealous” of him. “They knew that my base is unshakable. I never gave Nitish any problems,” he said.
The RJD chief said, “If anyone who kept the country together that was Mahatma Gandhi. It is regrettable that there is no Gandh among us to unite this country.”
He reiterated that Nitish is a murder accused. “Nitish is an accused in the murder of Sitaram Singh in 1991. The court has taken cognisance. Nitish Kumar must resign on moral grounds,” he said.
The RJD chief said his party was consulting legal experts and may approach the Supreme Court as the verdict in the S R Bommai case has not been followed while inviting Nitish to form government in Bihar.
“The S R Bommai case verdict clearly states that the largest party should be invited to form government. The majority is proved on the floor of the House. The RJD should have been invited. We have sought the opinion of Supreme Court lawyer Ram Jethmalani,” he told reporters.
RJD workers stage a demonstration against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in Patna yesterday.
