‘Allies can and do have different views’

Reiterating his criticism of the BJP’s ‘Ekta Yatra’, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar said his statements on the issue “had come from the heart and after a long thought”.

Reiterating his criticism of the BJP’s ‘Ekta Yatra’, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar said his statements on the issue “had come from the heart and after a long thought”.

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“Given the sensitivities of the situation in Kashmir, I felt that the BJP should not have started the ‘yatra”, the Bihar CM said in his first interaction with national media after the assembly polls last November.

Elaborating on the divergence of opinion with the BJP, Kumar said: “Political parties in an alliance can and do have different views and are also free to express them”.

At the same time, he parried questions on his meeting with Narendra Modi at the meeting of chief ministers in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Quizzed about the manner in which the BJP is seen as having done the piggy-back ride on his popularity in Bihar, Kumar said Bihar poll results should not be viewed as the victory of one party. “It is a victory of the people of Bihar”, he said.

Kumar does not visualise the possibility of Parliament stalemate on the 2G spectrum scam being overcome, unless the manmohan Singh government concedes the demand for the setting up of a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC).

“A JPC will be able to look at the larger issues concerning the scam. What prevents the government from setting up the JPC? At least I am unable to understand this”, Kumar said.