Bihar MLA claims he orchestrated 9 murders for Nitish Kumar
What's the story
Janata Dal United (JDU) MLA Anant Kumar Singh has stirred a political storm in Bihar after claiming he "masterminded the murders of nine people for former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar." The party has since distanced itself from his controversial remarks. Singh made the statement while criticizing his rival Neeraj Kumar, who is contesting the upcoming legislative council polls.
Political fallout
JDU defends Kumar, says he has no criminal baggage
"Nitish Kumar and I go back a long way. To help him, I got nine people murdered. I stood by him in times when he was struggling to find a toehold," Singh said.
The JDU quickly distanced itself from these remarks, with national spokesperson Rajiv Ranjan Prasad saying it "did not deserve to be taken seriously."
He defended Kumar's record as untainted by violence or criminal associations.
Political maneuvering
RJD uses Singh's statement to attack Kumar
The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), led by Lalu Prasad Yadav, took Singh's statement to target Kumar.
Party leader Shakti Singh Yadav said, "Anant Singh has effectively confessed to nine murders... for the sake of Nitish Kumar."
He alleged that Kumar built his power by aligning with criminal gangs across Bihar.
Statement retraction
Singh blames Yadav for deaths of his associates
Later, Singh retracted his statement against Kumar and blamed Yadav for the deaths of his associates.
He said during Yadav's government, nine of his associates were killed, and he himself was shot.
"It was because we aligned ourselves with Nitish Kumar that Lalu Yadav had them killed," he added.
The controversy comes as Bihar gears up for legislative council elections on October 23.