Talking to newsmen at the Ranchi Airport before leaving for Delhi, the RJD chief called upon Jharkhandi masses to see through BJP's ``political game plan in the name of Vananchal'' and strongly oppose its creation.

Reiterating his party's stand that the tribal interests can be protected only if a greater Jharkhand state consisting of the 26 ``predominantly'' tribal districts of Bihar, West Bengal, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh is created, Yadav questioned the rationale behind the creation of an 18-district Vananchal state.

The tribal population in the 18 districts of the proposed Vananchal state was a negligible 26 per cent, he said while emphasising that the dream of tribal self-rule will never turn into reality if Vananchal comes into being.``After all for whom is the Centre building Vananchal when theprotection of tribal interests is not guaranteed by them,'' he asked. India has a federal system and the rejection by the state Assembly of Bihar Reorganisation Bill, 1998, is a fact which should not be ignored, the former Bihar chief minister said.

BJP's Vananchal would in no way fulfil the aspirations of self-rule for the tribals as they were a minority in the region, he said, adding, that the creation would only help the fundamentalists to further ``exploit the tribals in the name of religion''.

``Vananchal's creation would further escalate social tension strengthening forces like the RSS to step up activities against the Church which has played an important role in the overall development of this region particularly in the education sector,'' the RJD chief said.

Replying to a query, Yadav said the question of the Congress withdrawing support from the Rabri government in Bihar did not arise as there was no written support from the party to the RJD government in the state. ``Congress support to theRJD in Bihar is issue-based and we are strong enough to keep the show going entirely on our own,'' he said.

Yadav said the Third Front was being consolidated nationwide to form a viable alternative to the BJP-led coalition at the Centre and the Congress.

The RJD chief, who was heading for New Delhi to attend an Iftar party hosted by Samajwadi Party chief and Rashtriya Loktantrik Morcha (RLM) convenor, Mulayam Singh Yadav, said he would talk to the latter on efforts to float a Third Front.

Condemning the attack on Christians in the Dangs district of Gujarat, Yadav said it was yet another proof of the non-governance by the BJP-led coalition at the Centre. Appealing to the communal forces to refrain from damaging the secular fabric of the country, Yadav said he would go to Gujarat on February 3 to make an on-the-spot assessment of the situation prevailing there.

Complaining that the Centre was not giving adequate financial assistance to Bihar, Yadav said he had personally requested the Union FinanceMinister, Yashwant Sinha, to release fresh funds for the improvement of roads across the state.

Sinha mum on Vananchal Bill

Union Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha today remained non-committal on the fate of the Vananchal Bill, tabled by the Centre in the recently-concluded winter session of the parliament.

Asked whether the bill would be taken up for discussion in the coming budget session, he refused to commit anything saying ``it depends on the business advisory of the House.'' However, he said his party was committed to creating the state of Vananchal, comprising eighteen districts of South Bihar, for which the Bihar State Reorganisation Bill 1998 was tabled in the Lok Sabha during the winter session.