Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ravi Shankar Prasad on Tuesday lashed out JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar for breaking aliance between their parties and staking claim to form government with RJD support saying he had "disrespected the mandate given by the people of Bihar.
Addressing a short presser in Patna today, Prasad said, "Nitish Kumar has left and said that BJP was trying to destroy his party...BJP made him a union minister several times. He was also made a Chief Minister. Why did he re-think his decision on alliance with RJD in 2015 and come to BJP in 2017?."
"Nitish Kumar is disrespecting the mandate of Bihar's people. It's a baseless allegation that BJP was trying to destroy JD(U)," said the former union minister.
JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar decided to snap ties with the BJP, amid reports of a tiff between the two parties.
Opposition parties such as the RJD and Congress are expected to support or ally with the JD(U) in its quest to form the government without BJP support. In July 2017, Kumar left the Mahagathbandhan to join hands with the BJP and continued as chief minister. In October-November 2020, the NDA comprising BJP and JD(U) won the assembly polls in the state.
Right after Nitish Kumar chose to resign as Bihar Chief Minister, the Bihar BJP expressed dissatisfaction and said that JD(U) had betrayed Bihar and the people's mandate.
Addressing a press conference today, Bihar BJP chief Sanjay Jaiswal said, "In the 2020 Bihar assembly elections, all of us contested under the NDA alliance and the majority and mandate was given by the people to JDU and BJP. However, as on date, Nitish played with the public mandate. JD(U) betrayed Bihar."
"We were successful in winning 74 seats, but we fulfilled the promise made by the Prime Minister and Nitish Kumar became the Chief Minister of this NDA alliance. However, whatever happened today is a betrayal of the people of Bihar and the BJP," he said.
Hours after resigning as Bihar Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar on Tuesday said that he has submitted a list of 164 MLAs to the Bihar Governor and staked claim to form a new government.
"We submitted a list of 164 MLAs to the governor and staked claim to form a new government. He will let us know when oath-taking can take place," Nitish told reporters.
Notably, JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar has been elected as the leader of Mahagathbandhan or the Grand Alliance.
After meeting the Bihar Governor, JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar said, "We have the support of seven parties and one Independent MLA. The letter of support has been signed by all."
Former Union minister RCP Singh, who quit JD(U) amid a rift with Nitish Kumar, said that JD(U) snapping ties with BJP and joining hands with Tejashwi Yadav is a betrayal of the 2020 mandate.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar resigned on Tuesday breaking his alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Kumar, earlier in the day, held a meeting with the JD(U) leaders to discuss his next future political moves. He then sought time from Governor Phagu Chauhan. Around 4 pm, Kumar arrived at Raj Bhavan and met Governor Phagu Chauhan and apprised him of his decision to quit as the state chief minister.
Earlier, in the JD(U) meeting today, all MLAs and MPs of the party supported chief minister Kumar's decision and said that they were with him. They also asserted that they will continue to support Kumar in his decision.
( With inputs from ANI )
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