BJP reacts to Athawale's claims: Outrightly dismissing Ramdas Athawale's claim that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar can return to NDA anytime, BJP leader Sushil Modi on Sunday (July 30) said that it may be the Union Minister’s personal opinion and made it clear that the saffron party’s doors for the JDU supremo are shut.
Modi claimed that Nitish has “become a burden” in the Bihar Mahagathbandhan and expressed his apprehension if the RJD would “bear it for long”.
This comes after Union Minister Ramdas Athawale claimed that Nitish Kumar can return to the NDA.
“Even if he wants to come, BJP is not ready for it. Ramdas Athawale is neither a BJP spokesperson nor an NDA spokespeson. He is the leader of a party and a Union Minister so this must be his personal opinion. But BJP has shut all its doors...He has become a burden, I doubt if RJD will be able to bear it for long,” Modi, who is also a Rajya Sabha MP, said.
He said that Nitish had lost the capability to transfer votes.
“His capability to transfer votes has ended. In the last Vidhan Sabha election it was seen that had Narendra Modi not come, he (Nitish Kumar) would not have won 44 seats. In politics, you are important if you have the power of votes. Otherwise, you hold no importance..." Modi claimed.
Raghubar Das reacts
Earlier today, Former Jharkhand Chief Minister and BJP national vice president Raghubar Das reacted to Athawale’s claim and said that Nitish may have expressed the same to the Union Minister.
“Nitish Kumar had been an NDA ally from the beginning. I think he might have spoken with Ramdas Athawale and said something..." Das said.
Rumours have been rife in the political corridors about Nitish Kumar being upset after he did not attend the joint press conference of the Opposition at the end of the meeting in Bengaluru earlier this month, and left for Bihar.
Notably, Nitish has been instrumental in bringing together the Opposition parties on a single platform. It was Nitish who had hosted the first joint Opposition meeting at his residence in Patna on June 23, in which over 15 political parties had participated.
However, it was reported that Nitish, in the second meeting in Bengaluru, was not happy with the proposed name of the Opposition bloc ‘I.N.D.I.A’. Later, Nitish himself dismissed such speculations and asserted that the new name of the opposition coalition was decided unanimously.
Nitish had broken away from the NDA last year to once again join hands with the RJD and Mahagathbandhan. Following the move, the BJP accused the Bihar Chief Minister of harbouring the dreams of becoming the Prime Minister for which he "backstabbed" the saffron party.
The third meeting of the joint Opposition is slated to take place in Mumbai after the Independence Day celebrations.
(With ANI inputs)
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