Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said here on Monday that the Janata Dal(U) had no plan or desire to join the Union Cabinet during the reshuffle on Sunday, and reports to the contrary were merely “media speculation”.
Asked if any action would be taken against rebel JD(U) MP Sharad Yadav, Mr. Nitish Kumar said, “We’ll let you know at an appropriate time…but till then, please don’t speculate.”
Reports said at least two JD(U) MPs would get ministerial berths, as the party had recently joined the National Democratic Alliance after severing ties with the grand alliance government in Bihar.
Names of R.C.P. Singh and Santosh Kushwaha, MPs, were doing the rounds ahead of the reshuffle. But, a day before the swearing-in, Mr. Kumar denied any such possibility, saying he had no information about it.
Deadlock
However, political sources told The Hindu that the JD(U) was insisting on two ministerial berths, while the BJP was ready to accommodate just one, leading to a deadlock.
Earlier, RJD chief Lalu Prasad and his younger son, Tejashwi Yadav, had mocked Mr. Kumar for the party not being included in the Union Cabinet. “Those who betray their own people would be dumped by others,” Mr. Prasad said. Mr. Tejashwi expressed his “sympathy for the political well-being of Nitish Kumar in the NDA”.
State BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi hit back saying, “Lalu Prasad should mind his own business.”