India News | CAL9 BH-NITISH-BJP Doors Closed for Nitish: BJP
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. The opposition BJP in Bihar on Thursday said that its doors were "closed" for Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who dumped the saffron party a year ago, stripping it of power in the state.
Patna, Oct 19 (PTI) The opposition BJP in Bihar on Thursday said that its doors were "closed" for Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who dumped the saffron party a year ago, stripping it of power in the state.
State BJP president Samrat Choudhary made the averment to this effect in reply to queries from journalists about the JD(U) leader's address to the convocation ceremony of Mahatma Gandhi Central University at Motihari.
Speaking in the presence of President Droupadi Murmu and Governor Rajendra Arlekar, Kumar had freely spoken of the tussle he had with the then Congress government at the Centre for getting a varsity approved for Motihari, where Mahatma Gandhi had launched the Champaran Satyagraha.
Without mentioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi by name, Kumar acknowledged that the project saw the light of the day only after a change of guard "in 2014" as the UPA government "initially refused and after much persuasion agreed in principle but did not move forward".
The occasion was also marked by Kumar swearing by his "lifelong personal friendship" with Radha Mohan Singh, the local BJP MP who held the crucial agriculture portfolio in the first Modi cabinet.
When Choudhary was asked about Kumar's remarks at the convocation ceremony, the BJP leader uttered the Bihari proverb "doodh bhaat", often used to mock childish behaviour.
"Only yesterday we saw the CM trying to act chummy with the governor while sharing the stage on a solemn occasion," said Choudhary, referring to the launch of "Fourth Agriculture Roadmap".
Kumar had, while speaking at the function, turned towards Governor Rajendra Arlekar and said, "You may be the Centre's appointee but I have nothing against it".
Choudhary, however, said, "Nitish Kumar should be grateful towards Narendra Modi not just for the central university but also for financial assistance to the tune of billions of rupees".
He also said "Kumar should thank PM Modi" for his current tenure.
"The PM lived up to his promise of supporting the JD(U) leader for another term in office though the latter's party was drubbed in the assembly elections," Choudhary said, adding that "as far as his talk of personal friendship with any BJP leader goes, we need to assert that our party is run on the basis of policy and not personal equations".
"Our Home Minister Amit Shah has made it clear that our doors are closed forever for Nitish Kumar," Choudhary said.
Notably, after dumping the BJP in August last year, Kumar had survived in power as a result of an alliance he formed with the Mahagathbandhan, comprising arch-rival Lalu Prasad's RJD, Congress and three Left-wing parties.
Charging the BJP with trying to destabilise the JD(U) while in alliance, Kumar had vowed to defeat the NDA in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls by bringing together opposition parties across the country.
His efforts culminated in the formation of the INDIA coalition.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)