JD(U) questions BJP for delaying its stand on Rajya Sabha bypoll; alleges double standards

Charging the BJP with tacitly backing two Independents against the ruling party nominees in the Rajya Sabha bypoll next week, JD(U) today questioned the saffron party as to why it had deferred its stand on vote till June 18. "If you (BJP) have no sinister game plan to rock the boat of the two JD(U) candidates -- Pawan Verma and Gulam Rasool Baliyawi -- in the bypoll on the two Rajya Sabha seats on June 19, then why you have decided to make public your decision on the issue by as late as June 18 next," Water Resources Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary told reporters here.

By delaying announcing its strategy for the Rajya Sabha bypoll, BJP might want to buy MLAs from other parties to ensure victory of the two Independent candidates, he alleged.

Claiming that the two Independent candidates had visited the former Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi's house and strategised with him ahead of filing their nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha bypoll on June nine last, Chaudhary accused BJP leaders of indulging in horse trading of the MLAs to ensure victory of the Independent candidates. "Irrespective of whatever the BJP says in public to wash its hands off the ongoing election process for the two Rajya Sabha seats from Bihar, the JD(U) firmly believes that the Opposition party has had direct role to play in the election otherwise two Independent candidates would not have been in the fray," he said.

"You (two independent candidates) can not win the Rajya Sabha bypoll against the JD(U)'s official candidates with support of 20 proposers, mostly disgruntled ruling party MLAs many of whom have returned to their parent party," he said.

Alleging that BJP was practising double standards in what it preaches and practices by giving fillip to rebellion in other party, the JD(U) leader said his party would soon write to all political parties in the country to expose the saffron party's alleged duplicity.

On the JD(U) soliciting support of the RJD and other secular parties to its two official candidates in the Rajya Sabha bypoll, Chaudhary said his party's stand was consistent in the backdrop of all non-BJP political parties extending support to the Jitan Ram Manjhi government in Bihar.

On Sushil Modi's claim that there were three chief ministers in Bihar at present - Manjhi (constitutional chief minister), Nitish Kumar (actual chief minister) and Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh (super chief minister), he said the former deputy chief minister who has been saying so must be suffering from bleary eyes under which a persons sees three images at once.