JD(U) not just Nitish Kumar's party, is mine too: Sharad Yadav

"JD-U sirf Nitish Kumar ki hi party nahi hai, yeh meri bhi party hai," Sharad Yadav said in Bihar's Madhepura district on the last day of his three-day Samvad Yatra to meet people and interact with them. He told them of his displeasure and pain over Nitish Kumar's decision to break the Grand Alliance of JD-U, RJD and Congress and join hands with the BJP and form a new government.

Nitish Kumar is the Janata Dal-United national president and said to fully control the party in Bihar. "There are two JD-Us in Bihar, one is sarkari (official) and another is janata (of the people). All the party legislators, leaders, who are close to the government for personal benefit are with Nitish Kumar, but leaders and workers close to the people are with me," Sharad Yadav said.

He refused to comment on reports on the JD-U decision to replace him as the parliamentary party leader.

Sharad Yadav, who is Rajya Sabha MP, said when he had "not been afraid of Indira Gandhi, what do others matter". 

"I am not afraid of any one to speak the truth and stand by my principles," he said in reference to his fight against Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi in the mid-70s, when he was a student leader close to Jayaprakash Narayan, who led the movement that ousted Indira Gandhi from power for the first time in 1977.

Sharad Yadav said action has been taken against a few leaders of the party "who are standing with me", and leaders close to Nitish Kumar have been threatening other JD-U leaders supporting him.

Sharad Yadav reiterated that he is still with the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) that was given a mandate by 11 crore people in Bihar in the 2015 assembly polls to rule for five years.

"The decision to join hands with the BJP and form a government in Bihar was against the mandate given in the 2015 assembly polls."

He said it was the people who had made the Grand Alliance of RJD, JD-U and Congress in 2015 Bihar Assembly polls and given their mandate to rule for five years. "People's mandate was against the BJP-led NDA," he said.