Nitish Kumar did not ask for Tejashwi's resignation: Lalu
RJD Chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Wednesday said that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has not asked for his son Tejashwi Yadav's resignation after the CBI raided him over corruption allegations. "We will not tolerate any disrespect towards him (Nitish Kumar). We have formed the grand alliance, made Nitish CM. Why will we break the alliance," Lalu said.
As Nitish Kumar meets his party - Janata Dal United - MLAs later in the evening today in Patna, senior alliance partner Lalu Prasad today reiterated that his son Tejashwi Yadav won't resign. Deputy CM Tejashwi is facing corruption allegations after the CBI filed a case against him."Tejashwi will not resign. Nitish Kumar is leader of the alliance but he has not asked for his resignation," Lalu told reporters after a separate meeting of RJD MLAs.  "Nitish Kumar is leader of grand alliance. We will not tolerate any disrespect towards him. We have formed the grand alliance, made Nitish CM. Why will we break the alliance," Lalu said. "We have spoken to Nitish Kumar and he said he is not asking for Tejaswi's resignation. BJP is trying to frame us but are we are not afraid of their tactic," former CM Rabri Devi added.  The fate of Bihar's Mahagathbandhan or grand alliance (RJD, JD-U and Congress) is likely to be decided today or by tomorrow as the JD-U is firm on Tejashwi's resignation.Nitish Kumar is expected to make some tough decision before the start of Bihar Asssembly's Monsoon Session (July 28) which the BJP has threatened to disrupt demanding the CM to take a call on his deputy.Tejashwi and his party RJD, which has most number of MLAs  of the three alliance partners, have repeatedly described the corruption charges as a conspiracy by Opposition BJP. Earlier this month, Tejashwi and Nitish had a closed door meeting during which the deputy CM tabled his stance and claimed that he was being framed. Insiders said Nitish was not convinced with Tejashwi's explanation.It is believed that Nitish is miffed with Tejashwi as he has failed to present solid evidence in support of his 'not guilty' claim despite being given ample time.Congress President Sonia Gandhi and son Rahul Gandhi have also tried to bridge the ever-widening gap between the JD-U and RJD but in vain.The JD-U has made abundantly clear that Nitish Kumar's taintless image is more important to the party than sticking with power. "Nitish is the leader of Mahagathbandhan, no one else. Those who are threatening of having 80 MLAs with them should not be in any kind of confusion. It will not take us even 5 minutes to quit government, power," JD-U spokesperson Ajay Alok had told India Today.The Janata Dal (United) has 71 MLAs, while Lalu's RJD has 80 seats  in the 243-seat Bihar Assembly.  ALSO READ:Nitish Kumar calls meeting of JD-U MLAs, pressure mounts further on Tejashwi YadavRevealed: What Tejashwi Yadav told Nitish Kumar in their 45-minute meeting behind closed doors