The Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress have rejected Lok Janshakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan's latest plan to end the post-poll deadlock in Bihar.
Paswan said on Thursday he was ready to reconsider his stand towards the RJD in the formation of government in Bihar if the Congress proposed a Muslim chief minister.
Senior RJD leader Bhola Prasad Singh said there was no possibility of the RJD, with 75 legislators, supporting an LJP or Congress-led government from outside.
Talking to newspersons in Patna, Singh termed Paswan's new formula as bakwaas (nonsense) to confuse his own 29 legislators over formation of the government.
Singh said that a secular government would be formed in the state led by the RJD as the single largest party.
He wondered how the Congress, with only 10 MLAs, would head the government.
The Congress, on the other hand, remained cold to Paswan's fresh initiative, saying it has no role in his scheme of things and made it clear that it stood by its commitment to support an RJD-led government.
Reacting to Paswan's proposal, All India Congress Committee general secretary Ambika Soni said the Congress had only 10 MLAs in the Bihar assembly and, "We have given in writing our support to the RJD in government formation. We cannot play any role."
Bhola Prasad Singh insisted that the RJD still favoured a government led by Rabri Devi, former chief minister and Lalu Prasad Yadav's wife.
Singh was silent over Paswan's stand that the Congress should come out with the name of a Muslim leader for the chief minister's post.
However, in a new development, State Congress president Ramjatan Sinha welcomed Paswan's new formula and stated that it was now up to the RJD to decide to support a government led by the Congress or not.
Sinha, who had submitted his resignation from his post to Congress president Sonia Gandhi last month, has floated the name of Wali Rahmani, a senior Congress leader for the post of chief minister.
Sinha said Rahmani is a former member and former acting chairman of the Bihar Legislative Council, who still enjoys respect among all parties.
However, Janata Dal (United) leader Upendra Kushwaha described Paswan's latest move as nothing but to keep his restless LJP MLAs in place by day dreaming.
Paswan had again put a fresh condition before the JD (U) to leave the BJP and join the government in Bihar.