Patna, May 18 (IANS) The merger of former Union Minister RCP Singh’s party with Prashant Kishor-led Jan Suraaj, months ahead of Bihar Assembly elections, has triggered sharp reactions from the state’s political parties, including the JD-U and RJD. However, the most strident reaction from also the founder of Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) Jitan Ram Manjhi.

Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi took a caustic jibe at the alliance and stated, “germs and the virus have come together to poison Bihar”.

He said that leaders like Prashant Kishor and RCP Singh are thinking that they will destroy the people of Bihar, but they do not know that there is an ‘antivirus’ whose name is National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

“The duo of PK and RCP should understand that NDA’s antivirus is effective in dealing with any virus,” he further said.

Dubbing the duo as political failures, Manjhi said: “What could be more ridiculous that RCP Singh, who formed a new party 6 months and 18 days ago, merged it with Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party, which was formed only 7 months and 16 days ago.”

He said that both of them had previously worked with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, but they did not stay there, adding “this shows their personal interests are more important than the state’s progress”.

Tejashwi Yadav, Leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly, said that both were earlier in JD-U. One was national Vice-President and the other was President. “Everyone knows at whose behest this is happening.”

Meanwhile, JD-U spokesperson Neeraj Kumar described both of them as poisonous germs of politics and claimed that they betrayed Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Both of them are political spent force and they bite the hand that feeds them.

Challenging RCP Singh, he said that he should contest elections from any assembly constituency of Nalanda. He said: “If you get no less votes than the Mukhiya election, I will quit politics.”

–IANS

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