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Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Friday said it is good that an arrogant Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee has left the UPA Government. Yadav also used the occasion to take potshots at his political opponent and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar "Mamata Banerjee was full of arrogance as Nitish Kumar is. Mamata Banerjee did not allow this government to function properly even for one day. They should have earlier taken her out. She is not a stable woman. Mamata Banerjee will take the people of Bihar and Bengal in pit," said Yadav. "It was the nobility of Manmohan Singh that he carried her forward for so long. Now, she must be realizing her problems. It is good that she left the UPA," she added. Taking a jibe at Nitish Kumar's recent remark that his political party would support whoever supports giving special status for Bihar , Yadav claimed that it was his wife and former Chief Minister Rabri Devi, who had first raised this demand. "Nitish Kumar is following Mamata's footsteps. He will not get even four to five seats, the people of Bihar have now understood him. Rabri Devi had in 2002 put forward the demand for special status to Bihar . When our party was in power earlier, a proposal was passed in the assembly that Bihar should be given special status. Atalji (former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee) had given us an assurance in this regard," said Yadav. "Nitish Kumar asked him (Vajpayee) to back down from his assurance on special status to Bihar , saying Rabri Devi will rise to fame over this. Atalji then said that special status will not be given, but package will be given," he added. Nitish Kumar had earlier on Wednesday said that his political party would support whoever supports special status for Bihar . Addressing a mass gathering in Bettiah, Kumar said that Bihar , which has 40 Lok Sabha seats, would play a major role in deciding who comes to power next. "Whoever supports special status for Bihar , we will support them at the Centre," he said amid a thumping applause. Kumar's Janata Dal (United), which is a member of the NDA coalition, presently has 22 Lok Sabha MPs and governs Bihar in partnership with BJP. The RJD chief also ruled out the emergence of a Third Font, and said that the election will take place at its scheduled time in 2014. "There is no pressure on the government. The election will take place at its scheduled time in 2014. There will two fronts in the country then, one communal front and the other secular front. There will not be a third front. And the leader of secular front will be the Prime Minister of the country," he said. Trinamool Congress withdrew its support to the UPA Government earlier today after a week of dramatic political twists and turn. Six TMC ministers, who resigned from the Union Cabinet, met President Pranab Mukherjee at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi earlier today to communicate the withdrawal of their party's support to the Congress-led UPA-II Government. After Trinamool Congress's withdrawal of support, the UPA Government's strength in Lok Sabha has come down from 273 to 254 leaving the coalition heavily dependent on Samajwadi Party (22) and BSP (21) to retain majority in the House. For a simple majority, the Manmohan Singh Government needs the support of at least 273 MPs in a House of 545. Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav earlier today said that his party would continue to lend outside support to the Congress-led government to prevent 'communal forces' from succeeding in their quest for power. "Our support is clear. We will not let communal forces come to power. That is why I am supporting. I am not in UPA. But we are supporting so that communal forces do not go ahead," he said. Mayawati's Bahujan Samajwadi Party is, however, yet to make its stand known on providing support to the UPA coalition.

Lalu welcomes Mamata's pullout from UPA Govt as good riddance