Amid growing tensions with ally BJP, JD(U) national president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday once again admitted that joining hands with the RJD twice was a “mistake” he will not repeat.
Nitish made this remark while sharing the stage with BJP national president and Union Health Minister J P Nadda at an event. “I have committed the mistake of going with them (RJD) twice. But we will now always stay together (with NDA). My association with the BJP goes back to 1995…,” he said, The Indian Express reported.
Without directly naming the RJD or Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav, the Chief Minister remarked: “These days, they (RJD) are trying to drumbeat their achievements and have been finding space in national and state newspapers. But have they done anything? Whatever work was done (in Bihar), it was done by us (JD-U and BJP).”
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He also praised the BJP president, noting that J P Nadda was born in Patna and expressing pride in his leadership of a major national party. Nitish Kumar added that Nadda should visit Bihar often and mentioned that he meets him regularly whenever he goes to Delhi.
During Nadda’s two-day visit to the state, he met with the Chief Minister at his residence in Patna. This meeting holds particular significance in light of the NDA government’s recent reversal on decisions related to lateral entry and the referral of the proposed Waqf (Amendment) Bill to a Joint Parliamentary Committee, following objections from its allies, including the JD(U), which has 12 MPs.
Senior JD(U) leader K C Tyagi’s resignation as the party’s national spokesperson last week is being viewed as a move by the JD(U) to appease the BJP. “Tyagi’s statements on recent contentious issues on Waqf, caste census and SC/ST sub-categorisation did not go down well with the party,” a JD (U) source said.
The meeting between Nadda and Nitish is also viewed as an effort to reaffirm their political alliance amid speculation surrounding the Chief Minister’s routine discussions with Tejashwi Yadav regarding the selection of two commissioners for the State Information Commission. The Leader of the Opposition, who is an ex-officio member, plays a role in the selection process for state commissions.