Taking a dig at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Delhi visit, the BJP on Wednesday said such trips will not make any difference and PM Narendra Modi will return to power for the third consecutive term in 2024.
Speaking to reporters, senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad claimed RJD chief Lalu Prasad has asked Kumar to go to Delhi and leave the CM’s post for his son Tejashwi Prasad Yadav.
“It makes no difference whether Nitish Kumar goes to Delhi or Mumbai. Lalu Prasad already told Nitish Kumar to go to Delhi and leave the CM’s post for Tejashwi Prasad Yadav. But Nitish Kumar is not willing to leave the CM’s chair. Let me make it very clear that the BJP-led NDA will form the government again in 2024 and Narendra Modi will become the prime minister for a third consecutive term,” he said.
The chief minister went to Delhi in the afternoon, and during the visit, he is expected to meet leaders of the opposition coalition India, ahead of the Mumbai meeting of the bloc later this month.
The BJP leader said the country wants a stable and corruption-free government at the Centre. “Narendra Modi is the only option, and he will become the PM again in 2024. As far as Nitish Kumar is concerned, he is organising the wedding procession for 2024, but who is the groom (PM contender)?”
Soon after reaching Delhi, Kumar paid tributes to former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his death anniversary.
State BJP president Samrat Choudhary said, “It is good that Nitish Kumar has gone to Delhi to pay tribute to the late Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his death anniversary. Nitish became CM of Bihar only because of Vajpayee.”
Former deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi asked if Kumar respects Vajpayee, how can he say that he does not respect other BJP leaders, including the prime minister.
“Let him meet opposition leaders in Delhi, it does not make any difference at all. Nitish Kumar has been totally exposed. Several leaders, including Upendra Kushwaha, RCP Singh and Jitan Ram Manjhi, left the Mahagathbandhan because of his behaviour and the performance of his government,” Modi said.
Congress legislative party leader Shakeel Ahmad Khan dismissed the comments made by the BJP leaders, maintaining that there was no need to take them seriously.
“Let them say whatever they want. Nitish Kumar has gone to meet INDIA coalition leaders in Delhi as he and our leader Rahul Gandhi played a crucial role in uniting all opposition parties ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections,” Khan said.
JD(U) chief spokesperson Neeraj Kumar claimed that BJP leaders have no right to comment on Kumar or the INDIA bloc.
“They believe in toppling governments, not in governance,” he alleged.