Nitish trashes BJP claim on 'jungle raj' rerun in Bihar

Says it is an attempt to divert attention from development

With BJP cautioning people against possible return of 'jungle raj' in the wake of the JD(U) alliance with RJD, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today discounted the possibility and said it was made to deflect focus from the development plank of the combine.

"Do not get frightened by such propaganda...It is nothing but an attempt to divert attention from development issues in the elections," Kumar said at a function of a private TV channel here.

"Where is the jungle raj?" he wondered and sought to know from the public whether women and families did not move around freely after dusk.

"At no cost return of jungle raj would be allowed in the state. Rule of law prevails in Bihar and would continue in the future also," Kumar said in a bid to allay misgivings about his joining hands with Lalu Prasad whose RJD rule in the state for 15 years was described as 'jungle raj" in some quarters.

In fact, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also been talking about 'jungle raj 2' in his campaign speeches to slam the alliance between JD(U) and RJD in the Bihar polls.

Continuing his tirade against BJP, Kumar wondered why it was "dumping in the cold storage" elderly leaders like L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi.

Kumar made this remark in response to a question on BJP leaving out names of Advani, Joshi and actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha from list of star campaigners for Bihar elections.

"These people talk about Indian culture and (at the same time) dump their elders in the cold storage in place of showing them respect," Kumar told reporters emerging from the programme of the channel.

On Samajwadi Party walking out of the secular alliance, he said an attempt was made to revive erstwhile Janata Parivar which (the move) did not succeed. The SP did what it deemed was right for it, he added.

He, however, said the grand secular alliance was intact.

Kumar praised sulking BJP Lok Sabha member from Patna Sahib, Shatrughan Sinha as "pride of Bihar" and lamented that the BJP threw him out after encashing his popularity for long.