Congress has 'mortgaged' itself to RJD in Bihar, says Deputy CM Sushil Modi

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi on Sunday said the Congress members in Bihar has "mortgaged" their party to Lalu Prasad's RJD.

The deputy CM asserted that Prasad always had the last word in decisions concerning both the parties in the state.

"It is now amply clear that the national party, once a force to reckon with in Bihar, has mortgaged itself to Lalu Prasad and his Rashtriya Janata Dal," Modi said.

He was speaking to reporters here while inspecting the river banks ahead of the Chhath festival.

"Even when the Congress shared power with the RJD in Bihar, it was a well-known fact that Lalu used to have the final say on distribution of ministerial berths. This impression has only grown stronger," Modi said.

The senior BJP leader was responding to queries about a function organized by the Congress yesterday, with Lalu Prasad as the chief guest, to celebrate the birth anniversary of the state's first Chief Minister Sri Krishna Singh.

A bitter factional feud erupted within the state Congress after the exit of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) from the Grand Alliance and the subsequent collapse of the coalition government.

One of the factions, led by former state president Ashok Chaudhary, was considered close to Kumar. The other faction comprised leaders such as Akhilesh Prasad Singh, a former RJD man and one of the main contenders for the post of Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) president.

Kaukab Qadri assumed the charge of acting president of BPCC after party president Sonia Gandhi removed Chaudhary from the post.

The deputy CM also took potshots at the RJD chief's elder son and former state minister Tej Pratap Yadav who was recently in the limelight for his statements against political adversaries.

"It is good that the elder brother (Tej Pratap) has taken over the reins from the younger one (former deputy CM Tejashwi) who is busy in Delhi. As per tradition, it is the elder son who should step in the shoes of the father," Modi said in a dig at Tejashwi, who had been frequenting the national capital following summonses issued by the CBI in a land scam.