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Giriraj Singh seeks Bharat Ratna for Nitish Kumar, Naveen Patnaik; sparks debate

By, Patna
Dec 25, 2024 08:05 PM IST

Union minister Giriraj Singh demands Bharat Ratna for Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and Odisha's Naveen Patnaik, amid RJD's mockery and BJP's leadership speculations.

Two weeks after JD(U), a major ally of the ruling NDA, demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi to felicitate Bihar chief minister and JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar with the Bharat Ratna award for his sincere efforts to take the state out of a morass and set things on the right track, Union minister Giriraj Singh on Wednesday demanded the highest civilian honour not only for Bihar CM but also for former CM of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik, a former NDA ally.

The opposition RJD laughed at the demand and wondered who was stopping them from giving highest civilian honour to CM Nitish.

Singh’s demand is taken with a pinch of salt as the vocal BJP leader is known as a detractor of Kumar and someone who minces no words to criticise him. But of late, he has been showering lavish praise on him. A couple of days back, Singh, after the Bihar BJP Core Committee meeting, had said, “Nitish Kumar is our leader and will remain our leader. There is no confusion (about that),” after the core committee unanimously accepted that Kumar would be NDA’s face during the Bihar assembly polls.

Union minister expressed similar sentiment in Begusarai, his Lok Sabha constituency, lavishing praise on Kumar, and Patnaik, a former alliance partner whom the saffron party ousted from power earlier this year.

“Bihar was known for decrepit roads, schools and buildings until the ascent to power of Nitish Kumar, who took the state to new heights. Likewise, Naveen Patnaik served Odisha for so many years. Leaders like them deserve the highest honour, like Bharat Ratna,” he said.

The statement comes in the backdrop of RJD’s allegation that the BJP was controlling Kumar. On Tuesday, Prasad’s son and heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav had alleged, “The BJP has assumed control of the CM office. Four close aides of Kumar, of whom two are in Delhi, are in touch with the BJP leadership. Amit Shah is clearly at work.”

The RJD has been trying to fan this “rift” after the confusion over Kumar’s leadership came during a recent interview of Union home minister Amit Shah to a news channel in which he was asked whether the NDA could go to polls in Bihar without declaring a CM candidate, like it recently did with great success in Maharashtra. Shah had replied, “We will sit together and decide. We will let you know after we have taken a decision.” The cryptic response had led to furious speculations that the BJP could insist on not projecting Kumar, who had been leading Bihar’s NDA charge for close to a couple of decades, in the 2025 assembly polls.

This has led to speculations in a section of the media that the BJP might push for a strategy in Bihar, where assembly polls are due in less than a year, similar to the one adopted in Maharashtra.

In the first week of December, JD (U) working president and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Jha had demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi to felicitate Kumar with the Bharat Ratna “as he set a failed state like Bihar on the path of development and progress.”

Reacting to demand, RJD spokesperson Mritunjay Tiwary said, “Who are they demanding this award from? The NDA government is at centre. Why only Bharat Ratna, demand Nobel Prize also. This whole drama will continue till elections and after that he will face Maharashtra like situation.”

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