Lalan Singh has said he quit the top post owing to engagements in his Lok Sabha constituency
In his first public meetings after quitting as party president, Janata Dal (United) leader Rajiv Ranjan Singh has said he is a pious Hindu but does not "exhibit it like those from BJP". The senior JDU leader, widely known as Lalan Singh, also stressed that Bihar will show the way for "farewell of BJP and Modi".
Mr Singh addressed four public meetings in his Lok Sabha constituency, Munger, since he stepped down from the top party post. Speaking at one of the meetings yesterday, he said, "Religion and faith are not for exhibition. I am a Hindu too and my faith is deep, but I don't show it like those from the BJP. Religious places are not sites for exhibition. They are being used to mislead people. The media is being put forward to spread falsehood through sponsored news," he said.
He said "predictions of the fall of Bihar government and JDU split are far from truth". "The Nitish Kumar-led alliance government is going strong in Bihar. In the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, we will fight together from the INDIA platform. Bihar will show the way for the farewell of the BJP and (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi. The people have made up their minds," Mr Singh said.
After Mr Singh stepped down as JDU chief, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar took over the post during the JDU's national executive meeting at Delhi.
While Mr Singh has said he quit the top post owing to engagements in his Lok Sabha constituency, the BJP has claimed he was removed.
BJP leader from Bihar, Shahnawaz Hussain, told news agency ANI, "Nitish Kumar ji first made RCP Singh president, then Lalan Singh and now he himself has become president of JD (U)."
Mr Singh has said he would sue media outfits publishing reports that he had plotted a rebellion against Nitish Kumar in favour of Rashtriya Janata leader Tejashwi Yadav.
In a statement, he said the reports in "one major newspaper and some news channels" were "completely misleading, false and aimed at tarnishing my reputation".