The JD(U) on Friday rebuffed Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav's statement calling for Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's exit from the BJP-led NDA.

Yadav, a former Uttar Pradesh CM, has accused the ruling BJP government of preventing him from paying tributes to Jayaprakash Narayan on his birth anniversary and urged Kumar, who had cut his political teeth under the legendary socialist leader, to snap ties with the saffron party.

In a strongly worded statement, JD(U) national spokesman Rajiv Ranjan Prasad said, "It is a bizarre remark from Akhilesh Yadav who does politics in the name of JP (Jayaprakash Narayan), but never cares for the principles of the late leader who fought against dynasty rule all his life".

Notably, Yadav had alleged that he was virtually placed under "house arrest" in Lucknow by the Yogi Adityanath government which wanted to "prevent" him from visiting an international convention centre named after JP, where he had famously reached a year ago by leaping over closed gates.

The JD(U) spokesperson said that the Samajwadi Party was "in the clutches of one family" and hence Yadav "must not have the temerity to invoke the legacy of JP".

Prasad also slammed Congress leader Pawan Khera for endorsing Yadav's statement and pointed out "it is the Congress which had caused untold miseries to JP and his followers".

The JD(U) leader, whose party's support is vital for the BJP's continuance in power at the Centre, after the loss of the majority in Lok Sabha, also asserted, "Our alliance is unbreakable and we are firmly together".

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