Farmers Movement Archive

Make Tejashwi Prasad Yadav CM and focus on PM’s post: RJD to Nitish Kumar

PATNA: At a time when JD(U) is annoyed by the way ally BJP took away six of its seven MLAs in Arunachal Pradesh, RJD on Tuesday suggested chief minister Nitish Kumar to join the Mahagathbandhan and hand over the CM’s chair to Tejashwi Prasad Yadav. In return, RJD said it would make Nitish the prime ministerial candidate. “RJD had once made him (Nitish) the CM and now he should show a big heart and let Tejashwi become the CM. He should now focus on Delhi and should lead the opposition,” former state assembly Speaker and RJD leader Uday Narayan Choudhary told TOI. He asked Nitish to focus on the Centre’s politics. “We will make him the prime ministerial candidate,” Choudhary said. He said there was anarchy in the NDA and BJP was gulping all the smaller parties in a planned manner. “BJP is like a big fish which swallows the smaller ones. This is the reason Shiv Sena left them. Even Akali Dal left NDA on farm laws issue. Now it is the time for JD(U),” Choudhary said, adding he was giving such suggestions because of tussle between the BJP and JD(U) over various issues in Bihar, including cabinet expansion. When asked whether he did not find Congress leader Rahul Gandhi fit to lead the opposition and wanted to replace him with Nitish for the PM’s post, Choudhary replied, “Let the time come.” His statement came a day after Congress legislature party leader Ajit Sharma gave a similar proposal, asking Nitish to switch over to the Mahagathbandhan. However, BJP state spokesperson Nikhil Anand said Choudhary’s statement was ludicrous. “They are daydreaming. RJD should first smoothen its relation with Congress, instead of thinking about BJP-JD(U). They should be concerned about their own existence which has been lost,” said Anand, adding, “Leaders like Shivanand Tiwari, Abdul Bari Siddiqui and Uday Narayan Choudhary have lost their importance in RJD and they are trying to lure Tejashwi by giving such statements to appease Tejashwi.” Watch RJD’s Uday Narayan Choudhary urges Nitish Kumar to join Mahagathbandhan

The Times of India

2020-12-30

Patna