JDU president Lallan Singh dismisses possibility of "return of Gundaraj" in Bihar

New Delhi [India], August 12 : JD(U) president Rajeev Ranjan Singh alias Lallan Singh on Friday said that crime was always kept under check during Nitish Kumar's rule as he rejected BJP's allegations that 'goondaraj' had returned as political propaganda.
The JD(U) chief also said that Kumar would soon hold meetings with opposition leaders in Delhi in a bid to unite the opposition.
His remarks came after Nitish Kumar took oath as Bihar's chief minister for a record eighth time by breaking his alliance with the BJP and joining hands with rival RJD.
"No Gunda raj has come back in Bihar, no village crime has increased. BJP kept on campaigning for all this. People of Bihar will show them in the 2024 elections whether crime and Goondaraj has increased or if cheaters like BJP will be sent off," Janta Dal United (JDU) National President Rajeev Ranjan Singh told ANI.
Singh also laid out JDU's plans of uniting with other opposition parties.
"We will definitely do it. We have requested Nitish Kumar ji and after a few days when the new government starts running smoothly, he will definitely visit Delhi and meet all the parties. He will meet the opposition leaders and tell everyone that all the parties should unite and fight against the Bharatiya Janata Party jointly," he added.
He also hit out at the BJP and alleged that the latter was responsible for breaking the alliance in Bihar.
"This National Democratic Alliance was born out of Atal-Advani Ji's thoughts. When Atal ji was leading the BJP and when NDA was formed in 1996, we parted in 2013. There was never any difference in NDA even for 17 seconds in 17 years. Today, the people of the Bharatiya Janata Party, who are in power, they are not ready to give respect to allies," alleged Singh.
He also cleared the air for Nitish Kumar's possibility of being the Prime Ministerial candidate.
"Will Nitish Kumar lead or not, is a different question. It depends on all the opposition parties. We have said that Nitish Kumar Ji is not the prime ministerial candidate but he definitely possesses the qualities required for the PM."
Meanwhile, Nitish Kumar was sworn chief minister for a record eighth time on Wednesday after he resigned from the post a day earlier and quit the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav took an oath as deputy chief minister.
The Nitish Kumar-led Mahagathbandhan government in Bihar will go for a floor test on August 24 to prove its majority in the state assembly.
The decision to hold the floor test on August 24 and make a suitable recommendation for convening the state assembly was taken at a cabinet meeting attended by Kumar and Yadav on Wednesday. Sources said that expansion of the cabinet is likely to take place on August 16 and RJD will have more ministers than the Janata Dal-United.
Mahagathbandhan or Grand Alliance has the support of 164 members in the assembly.
Nitish Kumar broke his alliance with the BJP for the second time in eight years on Tuesday before joining hands with RJD and other parties in the Mahagathbandhan including the Congress and Left parties. The Grand Alliance also has the support of Hindustan Awam Morcha (HAM), which has four MLAs in the Assembly.