PATNA: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar brushed aside Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s accusation that opposition leaders were coming together to save the corrupt, saying no one was shielding the corrupt and that he didn’t really pay attention to what someone in the Centre said.
“I have been working for the past several years. I don’t pay attention to what someone in the Centre says. Nobody is shielding the corrupt. They should think about what’s happening in other states,” said Nitish Kumar said in response to a question on PM Modi’s remarks in Kochi.
On a visit to Kerala on Thursday, PM Modi told Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers outside the Kochi airport that a “new polarisation” in national politics has emerged after the Centre started taking action against the corrupt.
“To save these corrupt people, certain political groups are openly coming out and trying to get organised into a unit,” PM Modi said, without naming any political party or formation.
In Bihar, PM Modi’s comments have been interpreted to refer to the state’s freshly-minted seven-party coalition government fronted by Janata Dal-United’s (JD-U) Nitish Kumar and Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Tejashwi Yadav.
Just last month, Nitish Kumar ditched the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance for a second time to realign with the Rashtriya Janata Dal and five other parties. Kumar was back as chief minister, this time with Tejashwi Yadav as his deputy.
{{/usCountry}}Just last month, Nitish Kumar ditched the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance for a second time to realign with the Rashtriya Janata Dal and five other parties. Kumar was back as chief minister, this time with Tejashwi Yadav as his deputy.
{{/usCountry}}The BJP, which found itself suddenly in the opposition, has been hurling stinging darts at Nitish Kumar and his new alliance ever since, questioning his credentials as a leader who could deliver on good governance and his decision to partner with Tejashwi Yadav, whose integrity he had questioned when he dumped the Grand Alliance in 2017.
On Friday, Nitish Kumar said he didn’t “care what someone says”.
“When late Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister of the country, I got an opportunity to work with him. We did a good job. He took care of everyone. Ever since the people of Bihar gave me a chance to work here, we have been working together for development. We don’t pay attention to what they keep saying at the Centre,” he said.
BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi countered Nitish Kumar’s assertions that his government didn’t shield the corrupt. “He says that he doesn’t shield the corrupt. But look who is with him all the time, Tejashwi Yadav who has been charge sheeted,” Modi, a Rajya Sabha member, said.
The ruling alliance’s law minister, Kartikay Kumar of RJD, resigned on Wednesday after it transpired that he had an arrest warrant pending execution against him. A day after Kartikay Kumar stepped down, a local court rejected his anticipatory bail request was rejected by a court in Danapur .