Patna: The Janata Dal United (JD-U) in Bihar headed by chief minister Nitish Kumar today asked its ally, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president Lalu Prasad to declare his property details in public and also reveal his source of income, indicating the new low in the prevailing relations between the two partners. The JD-U along with the RJD and the Congress are the partners in the ruling Grand Alliance government in Bihar.
“The opposition has accused you of acquiring huge property. So, you must declare your property details and also reveal the source of income,” JD-U spokesperson Neeraj Kumar asked of the RJD president on Friday while talking to the media.
He said the RJD president must have no problem in making public declaration of his properties when he had not committed any wrong. “What are your total assets? What’s the source of income, you will have to give details to the masses,” said the JD-U leader.
The RJD opposed the JD-U demand, warning them against playing into the hands of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). “There is no need to give property details to the masses. Lalu Prasad had already been filing annual returns to the Income Tax department every year,” countered RJD spokesperson Manoj Jha.
Trouble erupted in the ruling party alliance after the Central Bureau of Investigation named deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav as an accused in a 10-year-old corruption case and also conducted raids at his residence. Tejashwi is the son of RJD chief Lalu Prasad.
The JD-U soon asked Tejashwi to step down, but the latter, backed by his party, has refused to oblige saying he was implicated in the case as part of political vendetta and claimed mere filing of a case does not prove a person guilty.
As the fate of the 17-month-old government now virtually hangs by a thread, the JD-U has reportedly asked the Congress to intervene. Reports quoting local media, however, said the Congress has refused to interfere in the matter given the “vacillating” stand of the chief minister who has supported the NDA’s presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind against Bihar’s own Meira Kumar who is the opposition’s nominee.
Reports further stated that the Congress doesn’t find Nitish Kumar “loyal and trusted” as compared to Lalu Prasad who has consistently been with the Congress for the past over two decade without any change in his stand or ideology.
As per reports, both the Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi called up the chief minister today to seek support for their vice-presidential candidate Gopalkrishna Gandhi.
