"Nitish became chief minister because of the political situation in Bihar. He is the product of circumstances," Shahabuddin said, adding that Nitish was no mass leader like Lalu. "Nitish can't win even 20 seats on his own," said Shahabuddin, who was granted bail by Patna High Court on Wednesday.
Senior RJD leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh backed Shahabuddin's tirade against Nitish, but the RJD later clarified that Nitish was "not a situational chief minister".
"Just as the Sun rises in the east, Lalu is the leader and nobody can change that," Raghuvansh said at his residence. "As far as Shahabuddin's statement is concerned, it is true that Nitish became chief minister because of a certain situation and not on his own calibre."
The then Nitish-led NDA government had arranged Shahabuddin's arrest eleven years ago. In 2005, Shahabuddin, then the RJD MP from Siwan, had been dramatically arrested from his official residence in New Delhi by a Bihar police team.
The JDU was quick to reply to the barbs. "Only Laluji can reply to Shahabuddin's comment on situational CM," JDU chief spokesperson and MLC Sanjay Singh said. "I must also say that the Grand Alliance came to power riding on Nitishji. As far as Raghuvansh's comment is concern, he has gone into political coma."
The RJD later sought to douse the fire. The party's national vice-president and MLA, Illiyas Hussain, released a press note saying: "Nitish Kumar is not a situational CM but leader of the Grand Alliance. Nitish is also the best CM of the country and Lalu Prasad is the supreme leader of the Grand Alliance."
Nitish chose not to speak on the issue. "It has no importance for me to react," said the chief minister, currently in Jamshedpur.
The Siwan strongman had been lodged in Jubba Sahani Bhagalpur Central Jail since his transfer there from Siwan jail in May in a case related to the June 2015 murder of Rajiv Roshan. Roshan was gunned down three days before he was scheduled to record his statement as prime witness in the 2004 murder of his two brothers, killed after being given an acid bath.
Reminded by reporters around 7am today that Nitish was chief minister when he was jailed in 2005 and also now when he got bail, the Siwan don denied any interference by the state government. "Lalu was sent to jail when the RJD was in power in Bihar, so governments don't have any connection in such affairs," he said.
He also attacked Nitish on prohibition. "Awareness should have been created. It should not have been implemented this way - that a father will go to jail along with son. It is a black law," Shahabuddin said.
The bail to Shahabuddin has prompted the Opposition to allege a conspiracy. BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi today said the government had created a situation, under pressure from Lalu Prasad, that forced the high court to grant bail to Shahabuddin.
Out of jail, Shahabuddin sought to dispel the fear that terror would return to Siwan. "Why are people frightened of me," he asked. "Those busy with such baseless propaganda are trying to malign my image."
"Siwan has over 22 lakh residents. If someone feels frightened, what can I do," he said. "I know every child there and they all love me too. You should seek the opinion of the majority."
Asked about the May 13 murder of Siwan bureau chief of Hindi daily Hindustan Rajdev Ranjan - known for a series of hard-hitting stories against the Siwan don - Shahabuddin said the question should be directed at the electronic media or the CBI. "I will meet everyone in Siwan," he said when asked if he would meet family members of the slain journalist.
Shahabuddin's long cavalcade reached Siwan around 8.15pm amid tight security arrangements. The district police had deployed jawans all around Siwan town. Thousands of people had flanked the main road to see Shahabuddin, who stopped over in the town for a while and left for his Pratappur home - three kilometres away. The cavalcade had many vehicles without number plates.
From early morning, Shahabuddin's supporters from Siwan and other parts of the state had assembled near the Bhagalpur jail's gate near NH-80. Mohammad Saharu, a close associate of Shahabuddin, said a special messenger from Siwan court arrived with documents related to the bail order last night.
Over 150 vehicles sporting Lalu, Rabri and Shahabuddin tickets were part of his motorcade. "Traffic has become an absolute mess because of the motorcade," said a senior policeman near Zero Mile Chowk on the condition of anonymity.
Former RJD MP and now JDU MLA Girdhari Yadav, said to be a good friend of Shahabuddin, played host to those assembled outside the jail in Bhagalpur.
Two other MLAs, Ramesh Kushwaha from Ziradei and Harishanker Yadav from Raghunathpur, too, accompanied Shahabuddin.
The Siwan strongman was open about his future plans. "If people like me in white-clad dress, I will wear it otherwise I will opt for jeans," he said.
The Lalu loyalist denied that the RJD chief had refused a Rajya Sabha ticket to his wife Hina Sahib. "Who told you we are interested in it," he asked.