Amit Shah targets Nitish at rally in Bihar; says BJP's doors forever shut for JD(U) chief

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday alleged that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has joined hands with the Congress and the RJD, after dumping the BJP, for realising his prime ministerial ambitions, which he keeps having “every three years”.

Addressing a rally at Lauria in West Champaran district of Bihar, Shah claimed that the JD(U) supremo has agreed to make RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav the next chief minister and asserted that he should announce when he intends to do so. Shah charged Nitish with plunging Bihar into jungle raj for which the latter used to blame the previous Congress and RJD rule. He made it clear the BJP was now disgusted with the former ally’s flip flops and its “doors are closed forever”.

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Terms Nitish ‘opportunist’

“After fighting his entire life, since the days of Jaiprakash Narayan, against the Congress and jungle raj, Nitish has now sat in the lap of Lalu Prasad, the pioneer of jungle raj, and at the feet of Sonia Gandhi. He has become avsarwaadi (opportunist) from being vikaswaadi (pro-development) for his prime ministerial ambitions,” he said. “Enough of Aaya Ram, Gaya Ram, BJP’s doors are closed forever for Nitish Kumar,” he said.

Shah likened the JD(U)’s alliance with the RJD to “attempts at mixing oil with water”. “Water and oil cannot blend. So, here we have the RJD, like oil rising to the surface and the JD(U), like water, disappearing beneath,” said Shah, in an indirect reference to apprehensions that Kumar’s party was getting overshadowed by the domineering new ally. He also alleged that at the time of forming the alliance last year, the JD(U) leader had entered into a “clandestine agreement” with Lalu Yadav to make his son Tejashwi Yadav the chief minister.

“This has led to a lot of confusion in the JD(U) itself,” said Shah, indirectly referring to the recent exit of Upendra Kushwaha. “Doubts have emerged in people’s minds too. If he (Kumar) has struck such a deal, he should make public the date on which he intends to hand over the charge to his deputy and plunge the state into jungle raj which he had vowed to root out,” Shah said.

The Union Home Minister recalled that the BJP had won far greater number of seats in the last assembly polls than the JD(U), but Prime Minister Narendra Modi kept up his promise to back Kumar for another term in office.

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Aiming full majority

Shah, who is widely regarded as the BJPs principal strategist, said, “Nitish and Lalu cannot pull Bihar out of the vortex of backwardness. It is high time that the BJP formed its own government in the state with full majority. The tone can be set in the next Lok Sabha polls.”

Shah also made a reference to central assistance provided to the state by the Narendra Modi government, claiming that it far outweighed the support received by Bihar during the rule of Congress-led UPA in which Lalu Prasad was himself a minister.

“Nitish Kumar can’t stop demographic change in the border areas of Bihar. Elect Narendra Modi again in 2024 with two-third majority and we will put brakes on such attempts,” he said. In his speech that lasted nearly half an hour, Shah also touched upon bold steps such as the surgical strike, abrogation of Article 370 and ban on Islamist organisation PFI.

(With Agency inputs)