The BJP on Sunday accused chief minister Nitish Kumar and RJD chief Lalu Prasad of indulging in politics of blackmailing. 

Sushil Kumar Modi, the former deputy chief minister, said both leaders were trying to build pressure on the other to achieve their own ends. The leader claimed Nitish was trying to blackmail Lalu in the name of Pappu Yadav, the Madhepura MP, while Lalu was attempting to force the JDU leader’s hand by demanding the inclusion of former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi in the larger anti-BJP morcha. 

He said: “With the merger of the Janata party undecided, both Lalu and Nitish have decided to blackmail each other in the name of Madhepura MP Pappu Yadav and former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi.”
The former deputy chief minister, along with state BJP president Mangal Pandey, was speaking at a news meet on the induction of Anuj Kumar Singh, a former JDU MLC from the Gaya-Arwal region, into the BJP.
He also dared the chief minister to expand his cabinet as the ministers were overloaded with work, resulting in several projects proceeding at a tardy pace. 

Against a strength of 36 ministers, Nitish’s cabinet has 23 ministers, including him. Sushil said: “There are ministers who are looking after more than two departments. The result is that they are not able to do justice to even one department and for this, work has come to a standstill.”

Amid attacks at the government, the BJP leaders also elaborated on their plans to take the Centre’s achievements to the people. 

Several Union ministers, including LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan and road transport and highways, shipping minister Nitin Gadkari, would tour different parts of the state to spread among the people the good work done by the Narendra Modi government over the past year. 

The ministers, along with some state leaders, would fan out across Bihar from May 26 to 31 as part of the Jan Kalyan Parva. Sources said the idea behind the central ministers touring the state was for the BJP to bank on the performance of Narendra Modi for achieving results in the Assembly elections. 

Gadkari will be in Patna. His cabinet colleagues Kalraj Mishra (micro, small and medium enterprises minister) and Santosh Gangwar (textiles) would go to Gopalganj and Nalanda, respectively.  

Consumer affairs, food and public distribution minister at the Centre Paswan will be in Muzaffarpur. Rashtriya Lok Samata Party and junior human resource development minister Upendra Kushwaha will go to Kaimur and BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi will be in Purnea.