Why was Sharad Yadav silent when we split from NDA in 2013: Nitish

Coming down heavily on senior Janata Dal (United) leader Sharad Yadav for his revolt, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar asked the rebel leader as to why he never raised an objection when the party was separating from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in 2013.

"Why didn't Sharad Yadav raise objections in 2013, when we were parting away from the NDA government? He was a member of the party at that time," Nitish Kumar said while addressing an event here.

Without taking names, Nitish said that few people talk about mandate whilst aware that the mandate was given to fight against corruption, for the development and welfare of the state and not for the welfare of a particular family.

Launching a veiled attack on Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, Nitish said the leaders who consider people as voters, never think about the welfare of the people, state or the region.

"We never considered people as voters, we only focused on development. People raised question on my capability. They said I am an opportunist. We don't join hands with corrupt people. We don't have greed for power. We work for the welfare of the people" he said.

Further stressing on its alliance with the NDA, Nitish said the BJP made the proposal of making an alliance after he resigned from the post.

Sharad Yadav was sacked as JD(U)'s Rajya Sabha leader when he made his chagrin against Nitish Kumar snapping ties with the Lalu Yadav-led RJD and forging an alliance with the BJP, to form the next government in Bihar, quite evident.

In the aftermath, the Nitish-led JD(U) even suspended 21 party leaders for participating in Yadav's recent three-day Jan Samwad Yatra, wherein he interacted with the people of the state, indicative of a widening rift in the party

Lalu Yadav had also come out in support of Sharad Yadav, leading up to the Nitish faction, reportedly, warning the latter that if he attended the August 27 "Desh Bachao, BJP Bhagao" rally of the former, he would be sacked from the party.