In a jolt to Lalu Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal ahead of Bihar elections, senior party leader and Union minister Taslimuddin has charged his chief with being 'anti-Muslim'.
Peeved over being ignored during consultations for ticket distribution for the elections, Taslimuddin has also resigned as the chairman of the party's parliamentary board.
Taslimuddin shot off a letter to Prasad resigning from the post and saying that he felt slighted by the party high command in seat-sharing negotiations with the Congress.
He accused Prasad of 'neglecting' him despite appointing him the chairman of the party's parliamentary board just a month back.
Taslimuddin is a prominent Muslim leader in Bihar and represents the Kishanganj Lok Sabha constituency, a Muslim stronghold in North Bihar.
Party sources sought to downplay the resignation saying it was 'pressure tactics' to garner more seats for his supporters in the coming elections.
They said in the past too Taslimuddin had expressed anti-Lalu views to get his demands fulfilled.
Taslimuddin, facing a string of criminal charges, is also in the eye of a storm over National Democratic Alliance's vociferous opposition to his appointment at the Centre.
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