Lalan Singh vows to sue media outlets for reports alleging he plotted against Nitish

Former JD(U) president Rajiv Ranjan Singh ‘Lalan’ on Saturday, 30 December vowed to sue media outfits carrying reports that he had plotted a rebellion against Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, in favour of the latter’s deputy and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav.

Lalan issued a statement to the effect a day after he stepped down from the top party post, following which his proposal that Kumar take over as the national president was unanimously accepted.

The strongly worded statement alleged that reports carried in "one major newspaper and some news channels" were "completely misleading, false and aimed at tarnishing my reputation".

He pointed out that contrary to the claim made in these reports that on 20 December he had attended a meeting of a handful of JD(U) MLAs at a Bihar minister's residence, "I was in Delhi, to attend the meeting of INDIA bloc, along with the honourable CM. I even attended a meeting of party MPs at his Delhi residence later in the evening".

Lalan, whose friendship with Nitish Kumar is well-known in political circles, alleged that the reports sought to "damage my reputation and raise a question mark on our relationship that has grown over the last 37 years".

"The fact is, I had tendered my resignation only because of my engagements in my own Lok Sabha constituency,” claimed the Munger MP.

“The JD(U) stands rock solid under the leadership of Nitish Kumar and all our detractors will bite dust,” he asserted.

He added that upon return from Delhi, where the JD(U) held meetings of its national executive and national council on Friday, "I will send legal notices to all such media outlets and file defamation suits against these".