BJP leader Sanjay Paswan on Wednesday said that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's refusal to facilitate the state's students return from Kota will hurt the NDA in the upcoming Assembly elections.
"What fear is ailing Nitish Kumar that he is not facilitating the return of Bihari students from Kota in Rajasthan? I feel the government officials are misguiding him. The Kota students' issue will have an effect on the upcoming legislative assembly elections in the state. The family members of these students will think twice before voting for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Nitish should think about this matter again," Paswan said.
RJD leader Shivanand Tiwari said: "Are the chief ministers who facilitated the return of their states' students from Kota illiterate? Is Nitish Kumar the only one who has read the Disaster Management Act 2005? I feel the BJP will not fight the next election under his leadership."
JDU leader Ajay Alok said: "Those who are raising the demand for the return of the students from Kota are suffering from lack of knowledge about the issue. Chief Minister Kumar had put forward his points in his remote meeting with the Prime Minister recently as to why the state government is not facilitating the return of students from Kota."
"What is the point in making allegations against the Chief Minister if he has made it clear as to why he is not taking steps on this issue? The states which have facilitated the return of their students from Kota should make it public whether they took permission from the centre or not. It might not be wrong to say that those states have broken the law," he added.
Earlier on April 27, Nitish Kumar had said that it is not possible to bring back students stranded in Rajasthan's Kota until the lockdown guidelines are revised.
The Chief Minister made this remark during a video meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the situation arising due to COVID-19.
"A large number of students from Bihar are stranded in coaching centers in Rajasthan's Kota. Some states are bringing back their students. However, since the state is following the lockdown as per the Central government's guidelines. It will not be possible to bring the students back to the state until the guidelines are revised," Nitish Kumar said, according to an official statement.
Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh governments have facilitated the return of their students from Kota, which houses a number of coaching institutions for students. Maharashtra government has also sent a fleet of buses to bring back its students from there.
India is under a nation-wide lockdown which was imposed on March 25 and later extended on April 14 to May 3 to stem the spread of coronavirus.
( With inputs from ANI )