Modi praises Nitish for joining fight against graft, JD(U) leader says thanks
Nitish Kumar’s decision, not expected by observers, pulls the plug on a government formed in alliance with Lalu Prasad’s Rashtriya Janata Dal.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Nitish Kumar after he resigned as the Bihar chief minister on Wednesday. The JD(U) leader, for his part, thanked Modi for his support. (HIGHLIGHTS)
Kumar’s move virtually ended a two-year-old uneasy alliance between his JD(U), rival-turned-friend RJD and the Congress. Bihar’s so-called grand alliance that thwarted the BJP’s juggernaut in 2015 was under strain after corruption allegations against RJD boss Lalu Prasad, his son and deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav and their family.
“Many, many congratulations to Nitish Kumar for joining the fight against corruption. The country’s 125 crore citizens welcome and support his move for honesty,” Modi tweeted.
“For the bright future of the country, and especially Bihar, it is the need of the hour to rise above political differences and join the fight against corruption.”
Soon after, Kumar posted on Twitter:
There were speculations that Kumar’s JD(U) was going to ask Tejashwi to quit, but the CM’s resignation came as a surprise to many.
“It’s not possible to work in this environment. I tried…to found out a solution,” Kumar told reporters after submitting his resignation to the governor.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, a former partner of the JD(U), has supported Kumar. The JD(U) leader had recently supported the BJP’s presidential nominee Ram Nath Kovind, who went on to secure a comfortable victory over the Opposition candidate.
His move had then sparked speculations about cracks in the Opposition ranks, and the Congress reportedly reached out to him to save the Bihar alliance.
Kumar’s resignation came after a month-long unease in the alliance after the Central Bureau of Investigation raided Tejashwi and Prasad in connection with an alleged land-for-hotels scandal.
