JDU blasts Sharad Yadav for not supporting alliance with BJP

NEW DELHI: Senior JDU leader Sharad Yadav had recently said that the end of the grand alliance in Bihar is very "unpleasant" and "unfortunate". Now JDU on Thursday targeted its former President Sharad Yadav for not supporting Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's new alliance with the BJP and accused him of compromising with corruption. Differences have surfaced between Yadav and party president Nitish Kumar over joining hands with the BJP after dumping the coalition with the RJD and the Congress. "Sharad Yadav is compromising with corruption by supporting the RJD and Congress-led 'Mahagathbandhan' in Bihar," JD-U chief spokesperson Sanjay Singh said here. He was asked about Rajya Sabha member Sharad Yadav's opposition to Nitish Kumar's decision to form a government with the Bharatiya Janata Party in Bihar after dumping the Grand Alliance with the RJD and the Congress. The spokesman raised questions about Sharad Yadav's decision to hold a seminar against communalism in New Delhi on August 17, two days ahead of the JD-U National Executive meeting in Patna. Most senior leaders of the Congress and Left and regional parties are likely to attend the seminar. Another JD-U spokesperson, Neeraj Kumar, said it was difficult to understand why Sharad Yadav was backing tainted leaders. This is first time JD-U leaders have launched a direct attack against Sharad Yadav since Nitish Kumar embraced the BJP. Sharad Yadav has said that Nitish Kumar's decision to ally with the BJP violated the mandate given by the people of Bihar in 2015. "The situation (dissolution of coalition) is very unpleasant to us... It is unfortunate that the coalition has broken," Sharad Yadav had said. RJD chief Lalu Prasad, who has launched a blistering attack against Kumar after the disintegration of the alliance, in a bid to utilise the situation had appealed to Yadav to "come out from there (JD-U) and join hands with secular parties to protect the country from communal forces".