PATNA: In what is being seen as an indication of growing closeness with the Congress after the poll debacle, the JD(U) is now batting for the status of Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha to a Congress leader despite falling short of the required numbers in the House.Former CM Nitish Kumar said the NDA government should give LOP status to the Congress on its own in line with democratic practices. "The BJP should not make fun of the Congress's low number in Lok Sabha," he said.Nitish recalled that in 2010, when RJD got less than 10% seats in the assembly, he had accorded the leader of opposition status to RJD's Abdul Bari Siddiqui.JD (U) secretary general K C Tyagi had issued a statement on Friday strongly pleading that leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha should be declared the Leader of the Opposition.