Janjivan Bureau / New Delhi : Breaking his silence on the JD-U’s new tie-up with the BJP in Bihar, senior Janata Dal-United leader Sharad Yadav on Monday described it as “unfortunate” and said he did not agree with the decision taken by JD-U President and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
“I don’t agree with the decision in Bihar. It is unfortunate,” Yadav told reporters outside Parliament.
“The mandate of the people (2015 Bihar assembly polls) was not for this,” the Rajya Sabha member said on the JD-U breaking its alliance the Grand Alliance of RJD and Congress in the state.
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar had on July 26 resigned his position, ending his party’s two-year tie-up with the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress. Kumar, who is also the JD (U) president, returned as the chief minister in less than 18 hours with the backing of the BJP with which he had broken ties in 2013.
Kumar walked out of the ruling coalition citing corruption charges against his deputy Tejashwi Yadav, who is the son of and RJD chief Lalu Prasad.
While some senior JD (U) leaders have publically spoke against Kumar’s move, Yadav had not said anything until Monday.
The RJD and the Congress have accused Kumar of being an opportunist and joining hands with “communal and fascist forces” he had promised to take on.
Reports have said Kumar and finance minister Arun Jaitley spoke to Yadav and tried to mollify him.
Prasad said on Saturday he had spoken to Yadav and invited him to lead the fight against the BJP and Kumar.
Kumar’s decision to end the so-called grand alliance not only altered dramatically the political scenario in India’s third most populous state but also dealt a blow to the opposition parties looking to replicate the Bihar model to take on the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.