New Delhi/Patna, May 11 : Railway Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Yadav and the Bharatiya Janata Party''s (BJP) Ravi Shankar Prasad traded verbal volleys on Monday over the loyalty factor of Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar.

While Lalu lashed out at Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi for praising Nitish Kumar, who he said has joined hands again with Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, Prasad said it was a clear indication of Railway Minister''s desperation to safe his political career.

Lalu hit out at Kumar''s U-turn on Modi by sharing the same platform at the NDA rally in Ludhiana on Sunday.

He said, "Nitish sacrificed his secular image by joining a murderer like Modi."

The BJP, however, said that Kumar is very much a part of the NDA and that Lalu is not only attacking Nitish Kumar but Congress as well.

"This is very surprising. Lalu was not supposed to speak before the 16th. How has he spoken today? It is a sign of desperation. Nitish is a part of the NDA right from day one. Narendra Modi is a duly elected thrice Chief Minister of Gujarat and is doing good work. Lalu Prasad is getting a washout, hence all this desperation," Prasad told a television channel during a political debate.

"He is not only attacking Nitish Kumar, he is attacking the Congress as well. In the last 20 years, Lalu is finding himself in a mess for the first time when he has no legs to stand," he added.

Earlier, Lalu said, "I always said Nitish has ''teeth in his stomach'' (a complicated person). Now, people like Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi, who had given him the secular certificate, and others who favourably spoke of him will realise how secular he is."

"Nitish had refused to attend an earlier NDA rally in New Delhi, saying he was not prepared to share stage with Modi, but once the elections in Bihar were over, he (Nitish) returned to his original self," Lalu said. (ANI)