Grand Alliance rift widens: The latest
development comes a day after the RJD stiffened its stance despite growing
calls for Tejashwi to resign after the Central Bureau of Investigation named
him in an FIR on charges of corruption and cheating.
In visible signs of
escalating tension within the Grand Alliance in Bihar, the Janata Dal(United) on
Friday took an apparent dig at alliance partner RJD, saying that the Lalu
Prasad Yadav-led party should not boast about having 80 MLAs and pointing out
that they would have won the 2015 assembly elections without incumbent Chief
Minister Nitish Kumar’s
face.
The latest development comes a day after the
RJD stiffened its stance despite growing calls for Tejashwi to resign after the
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) named him in an FIR on charges of
corruption and cheating. RJD MLA Virendra Kumar had insisted they would listen
only to party chief Lalu Prasad. “We have 80 MLAs and our leader is Lalu
Prasad. What the JD(U) says or wants to convey does not matter to us. We have
decided not to entertain any demand of Tejashwiji’s resignation. He has been a
victim of BJP’s conspiracy.”
JD(U) is also likely to take a call on the
matter after the party’s forthcoming national executive meeting in Delhi.
During his trip to Delhi, Nitish Kumar is likely to meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi. It is learnt
that the JD(U) expects the Congress to convince the RJD to soften its stance.
Speaking to the The Indian Express, JD(U) national spokesperson K C Tyagi
had said, “We are preparing for the party’s national executive meeting in Delhi
on July 22-23. While our agenda is already decided, current political issues
would also be taken up. Nitish Kumar might also meet AICC president Sonia
Gandhi. We expect the Congress to intervene in the Bihar matter as it is our
ally too.”
Tyagi had also stated that the Grand Alliance
had been placed under Nitish Kumar’s “leadership and image”. “There has to be a
serious attempt by all stakeholders in the Grand Alliance to find a way out of
the impasse. There is no question of Nitishji compromising with his moral
authority,” said Tyagi. As of now, the Congress has backed the RJD against the
CBI and ED raids. Earlier in the day, Tyagi dismissed reports of a possible
split in the alliance.
On Tuesday, JD(U) had
asked Tejashwi to come clean on the matter. A day after, the Bihar deputy CM
virtually ruled out his resignation and described the FIR registered
against him under various anti-graft provisions as “political vendetta.” “The
FIR (in land-for-hotels case) is part of a political vendetta. BJP president
Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are
conspiring against me and family members out of political reasons,” Tejashwi
had told reporters after coming out of a cabinet meeting.
Last week, the CBI had registered a case
against the former Railways minister, Lalu Prasad, his wife Rabri Devi and his
son Tejashwi Yadav on corruption charges during his tenure as Union minister in
2006. The investigative agency had carried out raids at 12 locations,
including the premises of the RJD chief, in Delhi, Patna, Ranchi, Puri and Gurgaon.
The case is related to alleged discrepancies
in tenders allotted to a private company Sujata Hotels for development,
maintenance and operation of two IRCTC hotels
at Ranchi and Puri when Lalu Prasad was Railway minister.
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