RANCHI, June 20 -- Post-Rajya Sabha elections rumblings in the INDIA bloc in Jharkhand aggravated as a close aide of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad, Bhola Yadav, on Friday accused the state Congress in-charge K Raju of being responsible for party's and bloc's candidate Pranav Jha's defeat in the June 18 polls. Both the RJD and Congress are main Opposition parties in the INDIA bloc and they are accusing each other of "cross-voting" and compromising the interests of the alliance as the NDA-backed nominee Parimal Nathwani won one out of three RS seats in the state. In a press conference on Friday, senior RJD leaders led by Bhola Yadav, RJD national general secretary and a close aide of Lalu, described Raju as "Bikau' (sold out). They also urged the Congress leadership to sack him from the party and asked Chief Minister Hemant Soren to remove the grand-old party from the government. The strongly-worded tirade against the Congress was in response to Raju's Thursday allegations that their candidate lost because the RJD and the CPI (ML-L) "betrayed" them and their MLAs cross-voted, besides other legislators demanding removal of the RJD from the state government. Both parties vehemently denied the charge against one another. "I served as the election agent for the Rajya Sabha election held on June 18, and all the honourable RJD MLAs cast their votes after showing their ballots to me. We are deeply hurt by K Raju's statement and condemn it in the strongest terms. Our national president Lalu Prasad Yadav never joined hands with the communal forces; had he done so, he would not have faced imprisonment or become entangled in various legal cases," said Yadav. Reacting to demands from Congress legislators to remove the RJD from the government, Yadav emphasised that the RJD does not rely on others for its politics, and it possesses its own mass base and the distinct identity of Lalu Prasad Yadav. Yadav further underlined that Congress leaders should avoid making such remarks. "The RJD does not need a certificate from K Raju. We are accountable to our leader, not to the Congress. We work with a sense of dedication to carry out whatever our respected leader says; we execute exactly the tasks he assigns. K Raju should do some introspection before making statements against the RJD," he added. Yadav was joined at the press conference by all four RJD legislators, including state labour and employment minister Sanjay Prasad Yadav, who alleged Raju was making such allegations to save his own skin. "I suspect that Raju - who is associated with various factions in Congress - and his group orchestrated a scheme of cross-voting and are now conspiring to defame the RJD to save themselves; I strongly condemn this. Raju's statement is inappropriate; he ought to control his own MLAs - who are clearly not under his command - rather than making such remarks to mask his own misdeeds," he added. Describing Raju as "Bikau" (sold out), RJD legislature party leader Suresh Paswan sought action against Raju and urged the chief minister to remove the Congress from the government. "The thief shouts the loudest. That is precisely what K. Raju has done. Raju is a sellout; he attempted to sell the party and is now conspiring to malign the RJD to shield himself - an act that is condemnable. We urge Sonia Gandhi to sack him if the party wants to save itself. We also demand that chief minister Hemant Soren remove the Congress and form a new government. We are in total support of Hemant Soren," added Paswan. While Yadav was the RJD's party agent (party legislators must show their choice of vote on the ballot paper to the party agent before putting it in the ballot box), the Congress assigned Raju the same task. It was unprecedented for such senior leaders to be made party agents for the Rajya Sabha polls. For the uninitiated, Bhola Yadav is one of the RJD chief Lalu Prasad's closest aides. Having worked as the personal secretary to the RJD chief, Bhola Yadav has grown through the ranks and has held senior posts in the party, including its representative as a member of the legislative council in Bihar. Despite holding senior positions, Bhola Yadav has remained a shadow to the RJD chief, whether during Lalu's trial in the fodder scam and subsequent jail term in Ranchi following conviction, or on issues related to Lalu's health conditions, party insiders said. Political observers, meanwhile, questioned Bhola Yadav's claims, asking why his words, if true, didn't reflect in Congress' tally. "It's common sense that MLAs must show their vote to the party agent. So either he or his top leadership is lying about how their legislator actually voted. If they voted for the Congress, why doesn't it reflect in the tally?" said Alok Gupta, professor of Political Science, Jharkhand Central Univeristy. Reacting to the charge, Congress spokesperson Rakesh Sinha said that If a party lacks confidence in its own MLAs and leaders, it is inappropriate to vent its frustration on its alliance partner (the Congress). "It is beyond the purview of RJD leaders to comment on factionalism or the organisational state of the Congress. The Congress is a national party and is fully capable of managing its internal affairs. The personal remarks made regarding K. Raju are not only unfortunate but also contrary to the spirit of the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance). Leaders who used language labelling him a 'sellout' ought to first reflect on the decorum of their words and political culture. Attempting to tarnish a senior leader's image without evidence is a sign of political bankruptcy," Sinha added. Sources in the party further said that a Congress delegation met the chief minister at his residence after Thursday's results and apprised Soren of the party legislators' sentiments and cleared that they want action against the RJD and its possible removal from the government. Ultimately, the chief minister is the face of the alliance. And if the INDIA bloc has been hit by betrayal, his image has been dented as well. And he needs to act accordingly," a party leader, who was part of the delegation, said....