The crisis in Bihar ruling alliance deepened further on Friday with RJD chief lalu Prasad rejecting Janata Dal(United)’s demand for the resignation of his son and Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav.
“FIR is not a sufficient reason for my son to step down as the Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar,” lalu said after back-to-back meeting with State Congress chief Ashok Chaudhary and RJD MlAs and Ministers.
The CBI has named Tejashwi in its FIR in a corruption case in which lalu, his wife Rabri Devi, and others figure. The case goes back to the period when lalu was Railway Minister in the UPA Government.
Claiming that he would not buckle under any pressure from any quarter, lalu on Friday said, “I’m not scared of anybody.” He went on to claim that he had no difference with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. “This is the game of the BJP through CBI, ED and I-T to break our gathbandhan but I will not let them succeed. If there are charges against me and my children, they will explain their position at a proper forum. Our properties are in public domain and it is also with the CM,” said lalu after hours long meeting with his party leaders.
“Our alliance is unbreakable. Nothing will be done from our side to hamper this alliance but others are free to take a decision,” he added.
With lalu’s rigid stand, now all eyes are on Nitish on decision he will take since his party has made it clear that the Chief Minister will not compromise with his clean image.
Earlier, Congress leadership swung into action to save the mahagathbandhan as State Congress chief and Education Minister Ashok Chaudhary held detailed talks with Nitish and lalu to resolve the stand-off arising out of JD(U)’s demand for resignation of Tejashwi. Chaudhary met the two leaders after holding talks with the party high command in Delhi for two days.
After meeting lalu, Chaudhary said the alliance is intact and the BJP’s attempt to create political instability in the State will not succeed. There was no word from lalu’s camp on what transpired in the meeting. Chaudhary met lalu after being closeted with Nitish for over one hour.
The State Congress chief called on the two Bihar stalwarts after AICC president Sonia Gandhi spoke to Nitish Kumar two days ago and reportedly persuaded him to find way out to end the stand-off.
Amid growing rift within the members of the Bihar coalition, the JD(U) continued to mount pressure on the RJD.
"Nitish's stand on corruption is well known, he will never compromise on it," JD(U) spokesperson KC Tyagi said.
Asked what his party expected from the RJD over the charges against Tejashwi, he said the RJD leader should give a detailed explanation over these allegations, something his party made clear following a meeting of its leaders in Patna.
Tyagi also insisted that he never sought Sonia's intervention to defuse the crisis in the grand alliance and only welcomed such a suggestion reportedly made by a Congress leader in Bihar.
Political circles were agog with speculation that if the Deputy CM did not put in his papers, Nitish may go the extent of dropping him from the Cabinet.
On the other hand, RJD leaders maintained that Tejashwi will not resign with RJD MlA Bhai Birendra saying that only his party would decide on the demand for resignation and no party could diktat it. The recent political development has given birth to many theories that are being discussed on the possible fate of the 20-month-old Mahagathbandhan Government.
There is speculation that lalu may ask his son to resign and direct all the RJD Ministers to put in their papers while supporting the alliance Government from outside. "lalu's main interest is that the alliance should remain intact despite bitterness in an attempt to frustrate the possible move of Nitish to go back to the NDA," said a senior RJD leader claiming that this was the most favourite plan of the RJD.
A JD(U) leader said discussion in the party forum have touched various aspects on whether to remain in the alliance or part ways. "The difference between Nitish and lalu is that the CM has an alternative (to join NDA ranks) but the RJD chief has no other option," he said.