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Not just our responsibilty to keep Bihar alliance intact, says top JD (U) leader
JD (U) general secretary KC Tyagi said his party would never dilute its stand on corruption and the RJD and Congress had to do their bit as well to rescue the alliance from the crisis it was facing.
As the pitch for putting Bihar’s wobbling Grand Alliance back on rails gathered momentum, Janata Dal (United) on Sunday held its ground maintaining that the responsibility for keeping the alliance intact should be shared equally by all the three allies.
JD (U) general secretary and chief spokesman KC Tyagi’s clarification came after former party president Sharad Yadav, who had extended support to Lalu Prasad for being ‘targeted’ by investigating agencies last week, said that the RJD and JD (U) should save the coalition through mutual co-operation.
“I want the alliance to continue,” said Yadav, hinting that saving the alliance was more important than seeking resignation of deputy CM Tejashwi Prasad Yadav at this juncture. State JD (U) spokespersons have been vociferously gunning for it, though.
Tyagi re-iterated his party’s uncompromising stance on corruption. He said that the party had discussed the matter on all forums and the responsibility for rescuing the alliance from the present crisis also rested on its other two constituents, the RJD and Congress.
Chief minister and JD (U) president Nitish Kumar, returned to the state capital on Sunday, but maintained a silence on the outcome of his meetings with Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and former JD (U) president Sharad Yadav.
While he was in New Delhi, Kumar also attended the farewell dinner for outgoing President Pranab Mukherjee hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Sharad’s statement that Lalu and Nitish should find a way out of the present impasse to save the alliance assumes significance against the backdrop that he had earlier tried to impress upon Nitish that Tejashwi was only named in CBI’s FIR and not charge-sheeted.
Yadav is learnt to have taken the position that the rift in the GA on the issue was not warranted and efforts should be made to take it forward to the national level in the run up to 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
The JD (U) ex-president also held a 40-minute meeting with AICC chief Sonia Gandhi on July 15 to discuss ways to salvage the grand alliance. He had said, “using central agencies to selectively target Opposition leaders cannot be condoned.”
Admitting that the GA was facing a moral predicament, Tyagi said, “the alliance does not belong to a single party. It is the duty of all to make an honest and sincere attempt to tide through the turbulent phase, respecting each other’s views.”
Asked what transpired during Nitish’s meeting with Rahul Gandhi at latter’s residence on Saturday, Tyagi said, “it was just a courtesy call. It was intended to send out a message to all the three parties to keep the GA strong for maintaining its shine.”
Tyagi also said, “both the leaders share a similar view on the issue of corruption and hold that there is no place for such practices in the country.” The CM is learnt to have impressed upon Rahul that the challenge to NDA would get diluted by any compromise on this position.
