Patna, Jul 18 (PTI) RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Monday claimed that senior Bihar BJP leader Nityanand Rai had expressed a desire to jump ship before his induction into the Union Council of Ministers.

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The remark evoked predictable outrage from the Union Minister of State for Home's followers who accused the leader of the opposition in the state assembly of "character assassination".

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Yadav was replying to queries from journalists about the BJP taking umbrage at his having compared NDA presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu to a statue.

The former Bihar deputy chief minister said he was quoted out of context and that he had "no ill will" towards Murmu who will become the first tribal President of the country if elected.

"Our party is supporting Yashwant Sinha because he is vocal and can be expected to keep some check on the government at the Centre. Let the BJP not speak about supporting a woman. We made Pratibha Patil the first woman president whose candidature they had opposed for no valid reason," the RJD leader said.

When Yadav's attention was drawn to the fact that Nityanand Rai has also issued a statement criticising his remarks about Murmu, the RJD leader dropped the bombshell with a mischievous smile.

"Don't talk to me about him. He had met me, before getting a ministerial berth, and expressed the desire to join my party," said Yadav whose Raghopur assembly segment is adjacent to Hajipur which Rai had represented several times until becoming a Lok Sabha member in 2014.

Loyalists of Rai, a former state BJP president, who had cut his teeth in the ABVP, hit the roof.

"Tejashwi Yadav has a problem with every Yadav who does not belong to his family", said Nikhil Anand, the BJP's state spokesperson and national general secretary of its OBC Morcha.

Anand, a trusted aide of Rai, claimed that when Yadav was making his electoral debut in 2015, "Lalu ji used to send emissaries to Nityanand ji with the request that hurdles not be placed in the way of his novice son's victory".

"A dyed in the wool RSS man like Nityanand Rai will prefer death to any association with RJD. His rising stature is causing troubles for Tejashwi Yadav and his family, so they are indulging in character assassination," alleged Anand.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)