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JD(U)’s second-most prominent face Sharad Yadav was delivered another shocker after party MPs met Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday and handed over a letter declaring RCP Singh as their new parliamentary leader.
We met the Vice President and gave in writing that we have elected RCP Singh as our leader in Rajya Sabha.Vashishtha Narayan, Bihar JD(U) President
Meanwhile, Yadav hit out at JD(U) President and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, saying the party is not Kumar’s alone, but belonged to him as well. However, he refused to comment on reports regarding the JD(U) decision to replace him as the parliamentary party leader.
Citing sources within the party, CNN-News18 has also reported that Yadav would be sacked from the party prior to its national executive meeting in Patna on 19 August.
"JD(U) is not just Nitish Kumar’s party, it is my party as well," Sharad Yadav said in Bihar's Madhepura district on the last day of his three-day Samvad Yatra to meet people and interact with them.
He told them of his displeasure and pain over Kumar's decision to break the Grand Alliance of JD(U), RJD and Congress and join hands with the BJP to form a new government.
Vashishtha Narayan, on the other hand, said that replacing Yadav was a “necessary step because if a person indulges in anti-party activities, it has to be condemned unanimously.”
The party has lashed out at the veteran leader for making comments that “cross limits”.
Notably, RCP Singh is a trusted lieutenant of Nitish Kumar.
‘Sarkari’ JD(U) vs ‘Janata’ JD(U)
While addressing a crowd during his three-day tour in Bihar, Yadav had said that there is no other example of two parties with such different ideologies in independent India, joining hands barely 20 months after fighting each other in a poll.
There are two JD(U)s in Bihar, one is sarkari (official) and another is janata (of the people). All the party legislators, leaders, who are close to the government for personal benefit are with Nitish Kumar, but leaders and workers close to the people are with me.Sharad Yadav
Yadav, who is a Rajya Sabha MP, also said that when he had “not been afraid of Indira Gandhi, what do others matter.”
Sharad Yadav said action has been taken against a few leaders of the party “who are standing with me”, and leaders close to Nitish Kumar have been threatening JD(U) leaders who are supporting him.
Yadav reiterated that he is still with the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) that was given a mandate by 11 crore people in Bihar in the 2015 assembly polls to rule for five years.
“The decision to join hands with the BJP and form a government in Bihar was against the mandate given in the 2015 assembly polls.”
The JD(U) also suspended Rajya Sabha member Ali Anwar Ansari from the parliamentary party on Friday night for attending a meeting of opposition parties convened by Congress President Sonia Gandhi.
Amit Shah Invites Nitish Kumar to Join NDA
Meanwhile, BJP President Amit Shah has invited Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) President Nitish Kumar to join the ruling NDA, following the latter’s alliance with the saffron party in the state to form a new government.
“I met JD(U) President Nitish Kumar at my residence yesterday (Friday). I invited JD(U) to join the NDA,” Shah said in a tweet on Saturday.
The Bihar-based party is expected to endorse a proposal to join the NDA in its national executive meeting, after which it is likely to join the Narendra Modi cabinet.
(With inputs from IANS, PTI and ANI)
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