Split ahead? JD(U) says hasn't demanded Tejashwi's resignation, but urges him to come clean

Is Janata Dal (United) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) alliance heading towards split in Bihar over the corruption charges against Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav?

Even though Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has not demanded resignation of Tejashwi Yadav, it has ramped up pressure on alliance partner RJD asking it to come clean on the allegations against the Deputy chief Minister.

Tejashwi, son of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, has been named by the CBI as an accused in its probe into the land-for-hotels scam case.

"Nitish Kumar is a person of high moral values. Whatever he has had to say has been said during the Vidhan Mandal meeting earlier. Nitishji did not demand resignation. said JD (U) leader KC Tyagi told ANI.

However, Tyagi said that to continue to uphold the principles of the party, it is necessary that the concerned minister come out clean.

In response to Lalu's earlier remark of an FIR being insufficient to resign, Tyagi said an FIR is lodged only on the basis of thorough preliminary investigation.

Meanwhile, Lalu Yadav has rubbished reports that Congress President Sonia Gandhi had called him up to mediate with Nitish over the Tejashwi issue.

"There has been no conversation between Sonia Gandhi and me on this issue. I totally reject this," he said.

The RJD chief had also said that the grand alliance in Bihar is an unbreakable bond.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanded that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar must resign so that the fresh elections are conducted in the state.

BJP leader Rameshwar Chaurasia said that Nitish should resign as he is not working as per the spirit of the mandate that he got from people of Bihar.

Union minister and LJP leader Ram Vilas Paswan said the Bihar chief minister should take a decision on his association with the RJD 'at the earliest' as Lalu Prasad could break the JD(U) to form a government of his own.

The JD(U) has 71 MLAs and the other alliance partner Congress 27 while the BJP, which is the main opposition in the House, has 53 MLAs.