NEW DELHI: Bihar MLA Anant Singh made a shocking claim that he had got “nine people murdered” while supporting Nitish Kumar. The JD(U) leader Singh made the remark during an interview with news agency IANS while describing his long association with the party supremo.Recalling his sacrifices for Nitish Kumar, Mokama MLA claimed: “Who has made as many sacrifices as I have? Nitish Kumar was nothing back then. He used to roam around here and there. At that time, while being with Nitish Kumar, I got nine people murdered,” Singh said.

However, later the leader clarified that his remarks was misinterpreted and that he was referring to the killing of nine of his associates, not claiming that he had arranged their murders.Singh said the nine people killed was his personal loss that he suffered after aligning himself with Nitish Kumar and abandoning Lalu Yadav. Singh also claimed that he was shot at during that period. He also recalled that his father died after suffering a heart attack.According to Singh, the killings took place just days after a meeting with Nitish Kumar. He said that although Lalu Prasad Yadav had advised him against attending the meeting, he went ahead and had Nitish Kumar weighed against silver coins.

Singh maintained that he had cited these incidents to explain the sacrifices he made while supporting Nitish Kumar. He said his remarks had been taken out of context and denied claiming that he had arranged the murders.

Remarks amid dispute over MLC candidate

The controversy comes amid tensions within the Janata Dal (United) over its choice of

Neeraj Kumar

as the party's candidate for the Patna Graduates' constituency MLC election.Singh has criticised the decision, alleging that Neeraj Kumar had previously opposed him and questioning his contributions to the party.

He has insisted that his disagreement is with the candidate selection and not with Nitish Kumar himself.In the same interview, Singh said, “I am a devotee of Nitish. I am not challenging anyone.”Singh also recounted how Nitish Kumar had helped secure an assembly election ticket for his brother by speaking to Lalu Prasad Yadav, who was then allied with Nitish. Singh said he continued to support Nitish after the two leaders parted ways and eventually left Lalu Prasad's camp to join forces with Nitish.Known locally as 'Chhote Sarkar', Singh has continued to oppose Neeraj Kumar's candidature despite reported efforts by senior JD(U) leaders to resolve the disagreement.