Shahabuddin retracts statement on Tejashwi Yadav, says 'may accept him a leader if situation arises'

Patna: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and strongman of Siwan, Mohd Shahabuddin, who walked out of Bhagalpur jail last Saturday after getting bail in a murder case, appears unperturbed by the ongoing turmoil over his release. 

Talking to CNN-News18 today, the RJD strongman said, "I am not a don but media is portraying me as one. I am in fact a victim of the system."

"I am a secular person and am here to protect interests of a secular front," Shahabuddin, who was released from the jail after 11 long years, said. 

Just two days back, the dreaded don had made certain observations about the general changes that took place in the party while he was behind the bars. Shahabuddin had told media that he considers RJD chief Lalu Yadav as his only leader whereas called RJD chief's son Tejashwi Yadav a 'kid'. 

"People may accept Tejashwi as a leader, but for me, he is only a kid. His father Lalu Yadav is my leader," Shahabuddin had said. 

He, however, retracted from what he had asserted earlier and said he might accept Tejashwi as a leader in future. "Tejashwi is emerging as a natural leader. I may accept him as a leader if a situation arises," Shahabuddin said today. 

Yesterday, the NDA submitted a memorandum to Bihar Governor Ramnath Kovind demanding slapping the Crime Control Act against Shahabuddin. 

The Patna High Court on September 7 granted bail to Shahabuddin in a case of the murder of a witness in the killing of two brothers in Siwan by bathing them in acid.