Nitish Kumar will be the next chief minister even if RJD gets more seats than JD(U) in the Bihar assembly elections, RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Tuesday said.
He said if the grand alliance, which also includes Congress, comes to power, Mr. Kumar will occupy the hot seat, seeking to put to rest speculation over his stand if his party wins the largest number of seats among the partners.
“Irrespective of who wins the largest number of seats, Nitish Kumar will be the CM of the grand alliance. Our priority is to ensure that BJP goes back empty-handed from Bihar,” he told India TV.
He targeted the BJP over RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s suggestion for review of the reservation policy.
“We all know BJP is a mask of RSS. Mr. Bhagwat’s statement makes it clear that they want to abolish reservation for backwards, SCs and STs. But we will not allow that, come what may... If you have guts, try and abolish reservations and be ready to face the music,” he said.
He accused BJP of trying to appease the upper castes and said it was not able to digest the coming together of two backward caste leaders like himself and Nitish Kumar.
“Everybody knows what was the condition of backwards and scheduled castes in Bihar before 1990. They had to face insult. Things changed after I became the CM in 1990. I have empowered that section and now they are getting the respect,” he said.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who was also present, claimed it was senior BJP leader and then Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi who had “persuaded” him to cancel the dinner he was to host for BJP leaders including Narendra Modi who was then his Gujarat counterpart.
Mr. Kumar said even the Prime Minister is aware of it and it made him (Kumar) “worry” about Sushil Modi’s future.
“In fact, I was implicated in this controversy by none other than Sushil Modi. It was he who announced that the dinner has been cancelled,” he said.
Sushil Modi, however, said Mr. Kumar “hates” the Prime Minister and can go to any extent.
Mr. Kumar was also dismissive about SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav questioning his secular credentials, wondering “do I need any certificate of secularism from him?”
