Union Panchayati Raj Minister and BJP leader Giriraj Singh has said that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar wanted to become the Prime Minister or Vice-President of India.
"The BJP's remarks -- that Nitish Kumar is terming 'bogus'-- is absolutely correct that he wanted to become PM or Vice President of the country, which will eventually be proven with time.
"I said it yesterday and will say it today that Nitish Kumar was never as comfortable as he has been with BJP. He was throned as the Chief Minister in the year 2000 by the BJP only and now that he has become the CM for the last time, it is also because of them only," he said.
He further said that Kumar broke ties with them (BJP) because they don't have a vacancy for the Prime Ministerial post. "Even in 2010, he broke ties with us and contested for the position of Prime Minister of the country in 2014 but he got stuck with two seats," he said.
"This year, there was no insult to him but he chose to walk away as we did not have space for the candidate to replace PM Narendra Modi. Yesterday, he remarked that whether he will stay or not (till 2024)...he will not go back to 2014, PM Modi has people's blessings, PM Modi will remain the country's Prime Minister till 2029, just watch!" Giriraj Singh said.
When asked about the political developments and damage control in Bihar, Singh said that politics and policies were for the betterment and welfare of the people.
Meanwhile, Kumar refuted the BJP's claims of him wishing to become the Vice President and termed it 'bogus'.
"Nitish wanted to become Vice President of India. Many JDU senior leaders sounded BJP Ministers if it is possible," BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi alleged in a tweet.
Sushil Modi further alleged that Kumar ditched the party after BJP denied nominating him for the position of second highest Constitutional post in the country and broke the alliance.
Kumar was a long-time BJP ally before snapping ties in 2013. He later again joined hands in 2017. Kumar said that there was a unanimous decision in the party meeting in the morning "to break off ties".
JD-U and BJP had fought the 2020 assembly polls together and Nitish Kumar was made the chief minister of the alliance though the BJP had won more seats. Nitish Kumar's ties with BJP stretched to over two decades and he was a minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in 1996.
JD-U leaders indicated that factors including the developments related to the exit of RCP Singh from the party had soured ties with BJP. JD-U leaders have also been chafing at the role of Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan during the 2020 assembly polls and have indicated that his putting up candidates from seats contested by the party had damaged it.
JD-U and RJD had fought the 2015 Bihar polls together. JD-U has 45 and the RJD has 79 MLAs in the 243-member Bihar assembly.
( With inputs from ANI )
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