Nitish shrugs off Kushwaha’s moves

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Monday dismissed his party JD-U’s parliamentary board chairman Upendra Kushwaha’s open letter to party workers, demanding immediate discussions on the “special deal” with the RJD

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Monday dismissed his party JD-U’s parliamentary board chairman Upendra Kushwaha’s open letter to party workers, demanding immediate discussions on the “special deal” with the RJD.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar during his 'Samadhan Yatra' in Banka on Monday. (HT Photo)

“He is free to stay or go wherever he wants. Speaking like this on a daily basis means he is part of some agenda. Efforts have been made to damage the JD-U many a time in the past, as in the 2020 Assembly elections, but the party remains fundamentally strong,” Kumar told reporters in Banka, where he was visiting as part of his ongoing statewide tour, Samadhan Yatra, to review developement projects and government initiatives.

Kushwaha has invited party workers for a discussion on the issues on February 19-20 in Patna.

JD-U president Rajiv Ranjan alias Lalan Singh has described it as a “figment of Kushwaha’s imagination with an eye on some other deal”.

Kumar, when asked about Kushwaha’s proposed meeting, said, “We have done a lot for him and gave him important positions and respect, but he fled. Later, he returned. This is the third time he has returned and he is at it again. Why did he return then? He wanted to talk, but he has never come. All this has started in the last two months,. He is speaking on someone else’s behalf and therefore getting so much publicity. I have told everyone not to respond. The party president has said what he had to.”

Kushwaha, a former union minister, had merged his party RLSP with JD-U in 2021, months after drawing a blank in the 2020 assembly polls.

The former union minister has been dropping ample hints about his desire for a greater role and has been particularly vocal against CM Kumar after the latter recently ruled out the possibility of another post of deputy CM in the state.