No BJP-JD(U) rift, Nitish to be CM candidate in Bihar, says Amit Shah

Dispelling rumours of a rift between the BJP and the JD(U) in Bihar, especially in the backdrop of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s recent opposition to a nationwide NRC, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday (January 16) announced that the Assembly polls in the state will be contested under the leadership of Kumar.

Shah was addressing a pro-Citizenship (Amendment) Act rally in the north Bihar district of Vaishali when he made the announcement.

“I want to dispel all rumours about our coalition. The elections will be contested under Nitish Kumar’s leadership,” he declared.

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“Lalu Prasad (RJD supremo), who is in jail in corruption cases, may go on dreaming that our coalition will come apart. But he should know that the NDA has led Bihar out of his lantern age (an allusion to RJD’s poll symbol) to the LED era. The country and the state shall progress under the leadership of Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar respectively,” the BJP chief said.

Shah had earlier stated in a couple of TV interviews that the chief minister will lead the NDA charge in the Assembly polls this year.

This was, however, the first occasion for him to make a pronouncement to the effect on the soil of Bihar.

Pitch for CAA

In his address, the home minister made an impassioned plea for the support of people of Bihar to measures taken by Narendra Modi government like the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. He also slammed the opposition for misleading minorities about the Act and engineering violence that had erupted in the aftermath.

He slammed the opposition for misleading minorities about the Act and engineering violence that had erupted in the aftermath.

Underscoring that the law provided for granting citizenship and not snatching it away from anybody, he said the party was organizing rallies across the country with a view to busting the misinformation campaign.

Shah also sought support for the Modi government’s measures like CAA as also abrogation of Article 370 and construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya.

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Shah’s comment comes days after Nitish Kumar said that implementation of a nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC) has no “justification” and that CAA which has sparked protests across the country deserves a debate.

(With inputs from agencies)