The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday said that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar must resign so that the fresh elections are conducted in the state.
Talking to ANI, BJP leader Rameshwar Chaurasia said that Nitish should resign as he is not working as per the spirit of the mandate that he got from people of Bihar.
The BJP's assertion came after Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Yadav, his son Tejashwi Yadav and other family members are facing Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Enforcement Directorate (ED), and Income Tax probes over corruption allegations.
Chaurasia said that Bihar will never develop under such circumstances. Nitish Kumar must resign as he is not working according to the mandate that he got and pave way for elections.
Lalu Yadav said that his son Tejashwi Yadav, who is facing corruption charges, will not resign as Bihar Deputy Chief Minister.
"The Vidhan Mandal of our party has taken a decision that Tejashwi Yadav will not resign," Lalu told ANI in an exclusive conversation.
"An FIR is not sufficient reason for the resignation," he added.
This assertion from the RJD chief thus brought an end to speculations that Tejashwi Yadav might step down from the post to save the ruling alliance.
The current crisis was sparked by the CBI raids last week on Lalu's residence and cases filed against him, Tejashwi and others in an alleged land-for-hotels scandal.
Since then, the two parties have directed barbs at each other, increasing pressure on chief minister Nitish Kumar to sack Tejashwi to protect an image of clean governance.
Earlier last week, the CBI registered a corruption case against Lalu, his wife Rabri Devi, son Tejaswi; former Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) Managing Director P.K. Goyal; and the wife of Lalu's confidante Prem Chand Gupta, Sujata on allegations of awarding the tender for development, maintenance and operation of hotels in Ranchi and Puri in 2006.
The CBI later questioned Rabri Devi and Tejashwi.
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