Doors always open for Nitish, says Lalu Prasad Yadav

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president Lalu Prasad on Friday said his "doors were always open" for Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, his arch-rival who recently ended a short-lived alliance and returned to BJP-led NDA. Prasad, who has maintained a stoic silence ever since his party suffered loss of power due to the JD(U) president's volte-face, was responding to queries from journalists.

The two leaders were on Thursday seen warmly shaking hands inside the Vidhan Sabha premises where Prasad, who stays mostly indoors since his kidney transplant operation two years ago, had gone to boost the morale of Manoj Jha and Sanjay Yadav, both of whom filed nomination papers as RJD candidates for Rajya Sabha elections. When Prasad was asked whether the bonhomie indicated that he was still open to rapprochement with Kumar, who has ditched him for the second time, causing his son and heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav to lose the deputy CM's post on both occasions, the RJD supremo replied "let him come back. Then we will see (jab aaenge tab dekha jaaega)".