Sharad Yadav on Nitish Kumar joining hands with BJP: Don’t agree with decision, it is unfortunate

Speaking to reporters outside the Parliament, Yadav said: “I don’t agree with the decision in Bihar, it’s unfortunate.The mandate by the people was not for this.”

New Delhi / Breaking his silence on Nitish Kumar aligning with the BJP in Bihar, senior JD(U) leader and MP Sharad Yadav described the turn of events as “unfortunate” and claimed the mandate given by the people was being violated. Speaking to reporters outside the Parliament on Monday, Yadav said: “I don’t agree with the decision in Bihar, it’s unfortunate. The mandate by the people was not for this. Breaking an agreement with the people is a very big thing, they voted for the Grand Alliance.”

Reacting to his remarks, Union Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy said: “Sharad Yadav is not interested in Bihar’s politics. He is simply restless.”

Reports suggested that the veteran JD(U) leader was upset with Nitish breaking the grand alliance of the RJD and Congress. He refrained from making statements to the media last week when Nitish put in his papers. Sourced in the party told The Indian Express that Yadav was “totally against” Nitish’s decision to return to the NDA fold.

In the past few days, Yadav has been meeting several opposition leaders at this residence in Delhi. He is learnt to have told them that he was “deeply pained” with Nitish breaking ranks and entering into an alliance with the BJP at a time when Opposition unity was needed the most.

RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, referring to Sharad as “our leader”, had urged him to join in the fight against the BJP.

Meanwhile, Yadav has been attacking the BJP-led government at the Centre over Panama Papers and its public initiatives. “Neither black money slashed abroad returned, one of [the] main slogans of [the] ruling party nor anyone caught out of those named in Panama papers,” he wrote on Twitter.

Earlier, on June 29, he had tweeted: “Although Govt collects number of cesses in [the] name of different services from public, yet don’t see any improvement in any area in [the] country”

On July 28: “Ultimately our PSUs are used for any social cause like Govt plans to rescue stranded assets in power sector but PSUs disinvested heartlessly.”

On July 27, Yadav had hit out at the central government’s crop insurance scheme. “Amongst others Fasal Bima Yojana is another unsuccessful scheme of [the] Govt through which only private insurance companies being benefitted. Fasal Bima Yojana is big failure as farmers are not aware about insurers but premium deducted from their loans, benefit goes to only insurers,” he said in two tweets.