Mulayam blames Nitish for SP’s exit from alliance

‘Is betraying a sign of correct politics?...Are they politicians?’

LUCKNOW,UTTAR PRADESH, 17/04/2015:MULAYAM-CHANDRASHEKHAR BIRTH ANNIVERSARY: Samajwadi Party supremo, Mulayam Singh Yadav, at a function to remember and honour former prime minister Chandrashekhar on his birth anniversary in Lucknow on April 17, 2015. photo Sanjay Sonkar

Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh on Sunday finally broke his silence and blamed Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for his party’s exit from the grand alliance.

The Janata Dal (U), the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress are fighting the polls together under the Nitish Kumar-led alliance.

“When we decided to contest the Bihar polls together, Mr. Kumar supported the coalition. But when the coalition announcement was to be made, he [Mr. Kumar] quietly went to meet Rahul and Sonia Gandhi,” said Mulayam Singh at a poll meeting in Bhabhua of Kaimur district.

The SP leader further said: “We kept waiting for Nitish Kumar and when I called him I was told that he was in Delhi and when I met him, Nitish Kumar said he needed to leave for Patna for an urgent work.”

“Is it correct to lie? Is betraying a sign of correct politics?...Are they politicians?” asked Mr. Singh and the crowd cheered “no”.

Defends Lalu

However, the SP leader defended the RJD chief and his relative, Lalu Prasad, saying, “Injustice was, in fact, done to Lalu Prasad…he was sentenced to jail for five years but I’d ask you all who was responsible for his punishment…it was the Chief Minister (Nitish Kumar).” Recently, Lalu Prasad’s youngest daughter was married to the grandnephew of Mulayam Singh.

Earlier, when the Samajwadi Party had declared that it was exiting the grand alliance raising questions over Nitish Kumar’s “secular credentials,” the Bihar Chief Minister had retorted, “Is Mulayam Singh Yadav vice-chancellor of the University of Secularism?”

Under the alliance, only five seats were given to the Samajwadi Party while the Congress got 40 seats. Later, the SP refused to contest the five seats terming it “humiliation.”

Confident of win

Despite the best efforts of Lalu Prasad and JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav to keep Mulayam Singh in the grand alliance, the SP leader left the alliance. Not only that, the Samajwadi Party later formed a “third front” of six parties in Bihar to contest the elections and put up candidates in all 243 seats. “We’ll emerge as the main political party and form the government in Bihar,” State SP chief Ramchandra Singh Yadav said.