Monday, May 23 2005 14:56 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Patna: Angry over the dissolution of the Bihar Assembly, independent MLAs today (May 23, 2005) alleged that Governor Buta Singh had acted as an 'agent' of Rahstriya Janata Dal (RJD) president Laloo Prasad to prevent the formation of a non-RJD Government.

They also decided to launch an agitation to 'expose' Laloo Prasad, Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) president Ram Vilas Paswan and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who the independents charged were behind the decision.

All the 17 independent MLAs had expressed their support to a Government under Nitish Kumar and will gather in Patna later today to chalk out their future course of action.

''Governor Buta Singh acted as an agent of Laloo Prasad in recommending dissolution of the Assembly just to scuttle the formation of an anti-RJD Government under Janata Dal United (JDU) leader Nitish Kumar, who was to stake claim to form the Government today,'' Kishore Kumar Munna, independent MLA from Sonebarsa in Saharsa district, said.

''We will go to the people's court to expose Laloo, Paswan and Sonia Gandhi who were behind this decision (dissolution),'' he said.

Another independent MLA from Muzaffarpur, Vijendra Chaudhary echoing Munna's views said that the Centre's decision to recommend the dissolution of Bihar Assembly was politically motivated and totally unconstitutional.

''The Governor's allegations of horse-trading of LJP MLAs is totally false and he used this as an excuse to scuttle the chances of Nitish Kumar in forming an anti-RJD Government,'' the MLAs said.