 "Former RJD MP Mohammad Shahabuddin with his supporters in Siwan. Photo:PTI")
With the Supreme Court cancelling the bail plea of Mohammad Shahabuddin and directing the Bihar Government to take him into custody, the Janata Dal (United) on Saturday said the former's hostility towards Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is natural as the latter sent the RJD strongman to jail under very difficult circumstances 11 years ago.
JD(U) leader Pawan Verma told ANI that Shahabuddin's hostility towards the Bihar Chief Minister is entirely understandable.
"It was Nitish Kumar ji, who sent Shahabuddin to jail under very difficult circumstances 11 years ago. It is Nitish Kumar, who kept him in jail. When he (Shahabuddin) was seeking bail, it was Nitish Kumar's government that opposed the bail," said Verma.
"When the bail was granted, it was Nitish Kumar's government which within days filed a petition in the Supreme Court for the cancellation of his bail. So, Shahabuddin will be annoyed with Nitish Kumar," he added.
Earlier on Friday, a division bench of the apex court headed by Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghosh and Justice Amitava Roy set aside the Patna High Court's order that granted bail to Shahabuddin and ordered that he must be taken into custody immediately.
After surrendering in the Siwan district court, Shahabuddin asserted that he respected the order of the apex court but warned that the Bihar Chief Minister would get a befitting reply from his supporters in the next elections.
When asked if he had faced this massive setback since he had criticised Nitish and spoken against the Bihar Government, Shahabuddin said that he has never been afraid of speaking the truth and added that his supporters would give a firm and fitting response to the Bihar Chief Minister when the state goes to polls next.
