Janata Parivar merger 'a laughable alliance': Ravi Shankar Prasad

Union Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Monday said that the Janata Parivar is a 'laughable' alliance, adding that the merger portrayed Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's 'desperation'.

"It is a laughable alliance, not a merger. People of Bihar know that

Nitish Kumar has opposed Lalu Prasad Yadav for 17 years and the moment he left BJP, he started suffering the consequences. It is the desperation of two defeated leaders," Prasad told ANI here.

Prasad asserted that the Janata Parivar is a 'coalition of compulsion' and not of good governance.

"This is a coalition of compulsion, not of good governance. People of Bihar want jobs, they want decisive growth, which Nitish Kumar can't give," he said.

Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav had earlier confirmed that Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar would be the Janata Parivar's chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming Bihar Assembly polls.

The Bihar Chief Minister had yesterday met Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi at the latter's residence in the national capital.

On April 15, six political parties-including the Janata Dal (United), Lalu Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal ( RJD) and the Samajwadi Party-had announced a merger to revive the united Janata Party.

Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav was named the president of the merged entity.