The grant of bail for dreaded don Mohammad Shahabuddin, an ardent supporter of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad, has exposed fissures in the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) of Nitish Kumar’s JD (U), Lalu’s RJD and the Congress, which swept the Bihar Assembly polls a year ago.
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The Bihar government said there will be no compromise in cases against the criminal, who is a close aide of Nitish Kumar’s ally Lalu Prasad Yadav. “All these things are not important”, he told reporters in Patna.
“You say there is rock solid unity in the coalition and yet your leaders pass snide comments on the mukhiya (chief) of the coalition government”, he said.
IN WHAT is being seen as a signal that all may not be well in the ruling coalition in Bihar, RJD president Lalu Prasad has met his Samajwadi Party counterpart Mulayam Singh Yadav and promised to campaign for his party ahead of the UP elections next year. Sources in the party said options are being explored to push Shahabuddin behind bars again – like appealing against his bail in Supreme Court with an assurance to fast-track an ongoing trial against him and reviving trial against him in cases which has been stayed by High Court since 2013 as a HC notice was mysteriously not served on him in jail since.
“We don’t buy Kumar’s dismissive stand – that the controversy related to Shahabuddin’s bail or the latter’s barb at him are trivial issues and that they do not deserve his attention or reply”, Modi told newspersons on the sidelines of a Janata Durbar at his residence. The national party’s words came after some RJD leaders made snide remarks about Kumar, the chief of the Janata Dal (United).
“Had the government been honest towards its claim about rule of law in the state, it would not have closed its eyes from the reality like an ostrich”, said former deputy chief minister and BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi after his customary “janata darbar”. The Congress is relatively a smaller GA partner in that it has 27 MLAs to the RJD’s 80 and JD (U)’s 71. “Lalu Praad is keen to be a partner but make his son the true CM”, the BJP leader said, adding that Congress’ has a main bhi hu na (me too) status in the alliance.
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“What’s wrong in him seeing as his leader?” the RJD chief asked.
