Nitish has right to air his views: BJP

Seeking to downplay Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's statement that legal action should be taken against Varun Gandhi for allegedly making inflammatory speeches against Muslims, BJP on Thursday said the JD(U) leader has a right to air his views.

Seeking to downplay Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's statement that legal action should be taken against Varun Gandhi for allegedly making inflammatory speeches against Muslims, BJP on Thursday said the JD(U) leader has a right to air his views.

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"Nitish Kumar has a right to his views. If we had the same views there would not be two political parties but one," BJP spokesperson Balbir Punj told reporters.

Earlier, interacting with reporters here, Kumar had said, "Legal action should be taken against him (Varun) if the speech given by him and reports in media are correct. Whether anybody demands or not, it is a perfect case for legal action."

He had said JD(U) and BJP differed on several issues but continued to be allies. "We have an alliance with them and hence support them on certain issues. But we are not with them in every issue. There are a number of issues on which we do not agree with BJP and vice versa," Kumar had said.

BJP has distanced itself from the communal statements allegedly made by Gandhi in Pilibhit and demanded a thorough inquiry to verify the authenticity of the CDs. At the same time, the saffron party has clearly said it will field Gandhi from Pilibhit in the Lok Sabha elections.