In Delhi to meet Oppn leaders, Nitish Kumar’s first stop is Vajpayee’s memorial
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar is hold meetings with senior opposition leaders including Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi of the Congress and AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal
PATNA: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar started his two-day Delhi trip to hold discussions with Opposition leaders with a quick visit to former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s memorial to pay homage on his death anniversary on Wednesday
Kumar, who was critical of the BJP-led central government in his Independence Day speech on Tuesday, recalled the years that he spent working with the former prime minister.
“I came here to pay tribute to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his death anniversary. I can never forget how we used to work together. He was there when I took oath as the chief minister of Bihar for the first time,” he said after paying his respects at the memorial, Sadaiv Atal.
“He (late Vajpayee) loved and respected us so much that he could never forget,” Kumar said, referring to the period when he was part of the union cabinet as minister for agriculture and railways.
Over the next two days, Nitish Kumar is expected to hold discussions with top Opposition leaders including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi ahead of the opposition bloc INDIA’s meeting in Mumbai.
Both the leaders have not met since the Bengaluru opposition meeting. After the Supreme Court restored his Lok Sabha order, Rahul Gandhi met Lalu Prasad Yadav at Misa Bharti’s residence hours later that had led to some speculation about strains in the opposition alliance.
One leader from Nitish Kumar’s party Janata Dal-United said it was not confirmed if Kumar will discuss the suggestion that the opposition alliance appoint a person as convenor.
Kumar will also meet Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor and chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.
The BJP, which has been targeting chief minister Nitish Kumar over the opposition bloc, sought to take a swipe at the opposition. “Such trips will not make any difference and PM Narendra Modi will return to power for the third consecutive term in 2024,” said BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad, adding that the country wants a stable and corruption-free government at the centre.
Prasad claimed the Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad wanted Kumar to shift to Delhi to leave the CM’s post for his son Tejashwi Yadav. “It makes no difference whether Nitish Kumar goes to Delhi or Mumbai. Lalu Prasad has already told Nitish Kumar to go to Delhi… 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.
Bihar BJP president Samrat Choudhary said it was good that Nitish Kumar paid tributes to the late Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his death anniversary since he became the chief minister “only because of Vajpayee”.