Patna,(BiharTimes): Chief minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday strongly denied a report that his party was trying to engineer defection from Rashtriya Janata Dal to secure majority in the Assembly. At present JD(U) is surving on the support of four Congress and Independents legislators each.

Talking to reporters after attending a function of the Road Construction and Urban Development Departments on Wednesday he rejected a report published in a Hindi daily (Dainik Jagaran) as Bakwas (it is all nonsense).

He went on to add that RJD is a strong party and nobody can engineer split in it.

According to the report of the newspaper a majority of MLAs of RJD belonging to caste other than that of Lalu Prasad’s (that is Yadav) have been lured and the plot of defection is almost ready.

The report also said that these MLAs have been offered ministerial berths. There are 118 JD(U) and 22 RJD MLAs in the Assembly of 243.

Nitish also denied BJP’s allegation of attempt to poach its MLAs. He said that it is former Deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi, who is making claim every day that he would break JD(U).

On the other hand the legislature party leader of the RJD in the Assembly, Abdul Bari Siddiqui, also ruled out any such possibility of defection. He said that his party is totally united and added that it is instead the Janata Dal (United) MLAs who are in constant touch with RJD. He claimed that such news item has deliberately been planted in the media by the ruling party.
The state RJD chief, Ram Chandra Purve, said that all the legislators and leaders of his party have full faith in the leadership of Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi.
He claimed that large number of youths, women and people belonging to mahadalit castes, OBCs and minorities are turning up at Parivartan rallies addressed by Rabri Devi all over the state.

In a statement he said that the ruling party is spreading such delusion out of fear of expanding base of RJD and that it would never succeed in its design.