‘Section of Cong MLAs might have negotiated with BJP’: RJD hits back at cross-voting allegations

Ranchi, June 19 (IANS) The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) on Friday hit back at the Congress after the latter accused its MLAs of cross voting in the Rajya Sabha elections, with a counter allegation that a section of Congress MLAs might have “made a deal” with the BJP, exposing cracks in the INDIA Bloc.

Following Congress candidate Pranav Jha’s defeat in the Rajya Sabha polls, the party’s Jharkhand incharge K. Raju said the party and JMM legislators voted as expected, but alleged that the RJD and the CPI-ML did not extend support. He claimed that some MLAs from these parties cross-voted in favour of the NDA-backed candidate.

Responding to the allegations, Jharkhand Minister and RJD leader Sanjay Prasad Yadav said: “The principles and ideology of our leader Lalu Prasad Yadav and the Rashtriya Janata Dal can never compromise with the BJP and the RSS.”

“But the way Congress leader K Raju has accused us and CPI-ML (of cross voting), according to me it has been the character of Congress across states. K Raju himself knows that the MLAs of his party are divided into various sections, some of them might have made a deal with the BJP and voted accordingly and now allegations are being framed against RJD,” he told IANS.

Echoing a similar view, RJD National General Secretary Bhola Yadav added: “We came here to conduct the election, and our members voted for the Congress candidate. The (Congress) incharge here is making baseless statements only to hide his own mistakes. I reject and condemn those statements.”

While addressing a press conference, RJD MLA Suresh Paswan said: “We stand firmly with the Hemant Soren government. It is the Congress MLAs and K Raju who have betrayed. The Rashtriya Janata Dal stands with Hemant Soren.”

Jharkhand RJD President Sanjay Kumar Singh Yadav asserted: “Whenever the Congress has faced difficulties, our leaders have stood up for them.”

“We are answerable to the leadership of our party, not the Congress,” he added.

However, Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed reiterated the party’s allegation, saying: “We won all (five Rajya Sabha seats) in Karnataka. So don’t blame the Congress party. It is the RJD and the CPI-ML which has cross-voted.”

—IANS

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