Nitish Kumar said there was no need for "a third party" to comment on the issue.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar broke his silence yesterday on the corruption allegations against the family of alliance partner Lalu Yadav, saying if the BJP has proof, it should take legal action. Mr Kumar - who joined hands with rival Mr Yadav to keep the BJP out of power in Bihar two years ago - had maintained a silence as the BJP piled up its allegations against Mr Yadav."If the BJP has documents, then it should take legal recourse to prove their accusations," he was quoted as saying by news agency Press Trust of India. The response was to allegations that Mr Yadav's family has amassed illegal property through shell companies."This is not an issue that falls in the domain of the state government nor in the company law of Bihar," Mr Kumar said. There was no need for "a third party" to comment on the issue, he added.The BJP's allegations - ranging from the alleged soil scam to his links with notorious gangster Shahabuddin- had been mostly levelled by Sushil Kumar Modi, Mr Kumar's former deputy before the two parties parted company.Over the last month, Mr Modi held 10 press conferences at which he has furnished documents that he says proves that Mr Yadav's sons, Tejashwi and Tej Pratap, who are ministers in Mr Kumar's cabinet, are beneficiaries of secret land deals.Asked about allegations that information on property details have been concealed in election affidavits filed by Mr Yadav's family members, Mr Kumar, however, said if such information was not revealed, then an explanation should be given. "After all we are leading a public life where moral and ethical values do matter a lot," he added.Alleging that the Chief Minister was appearing to back the Lalu Yadav's family, Mr Modi said he must have been afraid that action against the RJD chief could lead to the fall of the state government.A statement from him read: "Nitish Kumar has broken his silence after 40 days since the first expose of benami properties amassed by the RJD supremo and his family, but did not promise any action against them fearing fall of the grand alliance government."

Mr Kumar, who is serving his third consecutive term as the Chief Minister, had stitched together a grand alliance with Lalu Yadav's RJD and the Congress ahead of the assembly elections in 2015. In the election, the RJD won more seats and remained the senior partner.But with his conviction in the first fodder scam case negating the possibility of his holding public office, he said he would honour a pre-election agreement that Mr Kumar will retain the Chief Minister's Office. His two sons were inducted in the cabinet.