16 LJP MLAs with Nitish

Former Bihar unit president of the LJP, Narendra Singh, claimed that four other LJP MLAs of the dissolved House—Rama Singh, Shanker Singh, Manoranjan Singh alias Dhumal Singh and Sheel Kumar Rai—could not attend the function as they were in jail. “These four and Aruna Devi, who could not attend the function for personal reasons, have submitted affidavits declaring support for Nitish Kumar. The affidavits have been appended to the petition pending before the Supreme Court challenging the dissolution of the Bihar Assembly,’’ he said.

Nitish later charged RJD chief Laloo Prasad Yadav with paying only ‘‘lip service’’ to minorities. ‘‘We have never made any compromise on the issue and never will,’’ he said.

‘‘We have ensured that the NDA takes a secular view and does not deviate from propriety,’’ he said.