New Delhi: Days after he was sworn in as Bihar Chief Minister amid the high-octane political drama, Nitish Kumar showered praises on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling him the "biggest leader" in the country and added that "there is no one who can defeat him."
"Nobody can compete with Narendra Modi. I don't have the capability to do that, and there is nobody capable enough in the country right now," he said, "there is no doubt that he will win in 2019 again."
In a press conference on Monday, Nitish broke his silence on breaking away from Mahagathbandhan, saying he was compelled to take a decision after it became "impossible to continue", adding that he intimated Lalu Prasad about allegations against Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav and asked him to "issue a clarification on the CBI raids on him."
"I kept tolerating everything, including Lalu Yadav, to ensure that Mahagathbandhan remained intact... After a while, we didn't have any other option left," Nitish said, adding that he never spoke against Lalu and respected the sanctity of alliance.
Nitish asserted that he never asked anybody to resign but wanted Lalu to go public and clarify his stand on CBI raids. "But they were not ready to clarify," Nitish said, referring to the reason which led to the dissolution of Mahagathbandhan.
In a veiled attack on his party’s senior leader Sharad Yadav, who has expressed disappointment over Nitish’s decision to join hands with BJP, he said, “My party is only made for Bihar. I have nothing to do with other states. Who knows, few more problems could be solved at a time."
Describing the inevitable Nitish said, “I had no other option but to break the alliance with RJD and Congress. Last year also, the situation worsened when a mafia don related to the RJD leader was freed from jail, and the man was sent to jail only after state government’s intervention," referring to Mohammad Shahabuddin, RJD leader and strongman from Siwan.
Nitish Kumar reiterated his stance on secularism, saying he didn't need any certificate from anyone and previous NDA government in Bihar led by him was a testimony to this. "A record number of welfare schemes was launched for minorities."
He also mentioned his first and second term as the chief minister in which the state government reopened cases related to Bhagalpur riots and ensured justice.
Nitish Kumar, famous for his clean and corruption-free image across the country, found himself in a predicament when media vigorously pursued corruption charges against his foe-turned-friend-turned-foe Lalu Yadav.
"When issue of corruption came to light, I asked myself 'how could I compromise on my principles?'"
Nitish complemented media for its coverage of the issue and said that he "ran out of patience", prompting him to break the Grand Alliance in which Congress was the third partner.
Comments
0 comment