Nitish Kumar on JD (U) MLAs poaching:
Questioning BJP on moral grounds, Janata Dal United Chief Nitish Kumar on Saturday said that it is not 'constinutional' to poach MLAs from other parties. Talking to reporters at the party office, where a two-day national conclave is underway, Kumar questioned the propriety and constitutionality of the alleged poaching by his former ally.
Five JD(U) MLAs from Manipur - Kh Joykishan, N Sanate, Md Achab Uddin, former DGP L M Khaute and Thangjam Arunkumar joined the BJP on Friday evening. The development comes as an embarrassment for the party which is holding its national executive meeting here and trying to project Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, its de facto leader, for a bigger role.
"When we parted ways from NDA, all our six Manipur MLAs came & met us & assured us they were with JDU. We need to think about what's going on. They're breaking away the MLAs from the parties, is it , constitutional?"
Demanding for an united Opposition the Bihar CM said, "...Hence all parties must unite in 2024 for a positive mandate." Asked about reports that he will be visiting Delhi in the next few days to meet top leaders and explore the prospects of opposition unity, Kumar replied in the affirmative but did not divulge details.
JD(U) national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan also alleged that the BJP did in Manipur what it had "previously attempted in Delhi, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra". "Our MLAs in Manipur had defeated BJP candidates at the hustings. Ditto in Arunachal Pradesh where our MLAs were poached while we were still in NDA," fumed Lalan.
