The Janata Dal (United) on Thursday appeared to be moving closer to a separation from its senior leader Sharad Yadav as it asked him to desist from making comments which “cross limits”. Party spokesperson K C Tyagi said that Yadav’s remarks were objectionable and uncomfortable for the party.
The warning from Tyagi came on a day Yadav slammed Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's move to ally with the BJP, and said he remained with the grand alliance, which was formed among the RJD, JD(U) and the Congress.
JD(U) Reacts to Yadav’s ‘Incendiary’ Remarks
There is no other example in independent India of two parties with such different ideologies joining hands barely 20 months after fighting each other in a poll, Yadav said in a statement as he reached Bihar on a three-day tour to receive “people's feedback”. Yadav, who is set to begin a three-day tour of Bihar from Thursday, is heading a faction of leaders who are “unhappy” with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s decision of breaking away from the Grand Alliance and joining hands with the BJP, as per a Hindustan Times report.
Reacting to his statement, Tyagi said:
The political language being used by him is very objectionable and uncomfortable for the party president (Nitish Kumar) and the government (of Bihar). It will be better if he puts his point of view at the party’s national executive on 19 August. We will ask him to refrain from making statements which crosses limits.
Yadav seemed to be choosing his own path now, Tyagi said, claiming that it was not leaders from the JD(U) but Lalu Prasad-led RJD who have arranged his programmes.
Asked if the party would take any disciplinary action against Yadav, Tyagi said it had not taken any such measure so far.
Tyagi also objected to Yadav’s comments that he remained with the grand alliance, saying it was objectionable for a senior leader like him to say after the party has broken ties with it and joined hands with the NDA.
Yadav to Meet Sonia Gandhi on Friday
Amid speculations about the JDU(U) heading towards a split, Sharad Yadav is all set to meet Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Friday, at a meeting of 18 opposition parties called by the latter.
Friday’s meeting, to be chaired by Gandhi on the last day of the Parliament’s monsoon session, will be held to plan the joint opposition’s strategy against the Modi government, as per a report by Firstpost.
Mulling Over Nitish Kumar’s Expulsion
Arun Shrivastava told HT that 12 state unit presidents met Yadav recently and are mulling over “legal and constitutional options” to expel Nitish Kumar as party chief.
Addressing the media on Thursday, Yadav said: “The disintegration of the Grand Alliance government in Bihar has broken trust of 11 crore citizens of the state… I campaigned and asked the people to vote for the alliance which is a responsibility. I will talk to the people about this.”
(With inputs from Hindustan Times, PTI, Firstpost)
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