Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday said his party president would participate in a function organised by Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao on February 17, as Mr. Rao has “personally extended his invitation” to him. This announcement follows Mr. Kumar’s conspicuous absence at the Khammam rally in Telangana, which saw the participation of three Opposition CMs.
“Yes, I have got a call from him (Mr. Rao) for the invitation. It is, perhaps, his personal function and if someone invites you, one should participate in it. JD(U) president is going to participate in it,” Mr. Kumar told media persons at Kaimur on the sidelines of his ongoing Samadhan Yatra (solution journey).
When asked if people were raising slogans about he being the next Prime Minister of the country, Mr. Kumar’s rebuff was, “I do not agree with this. Hum logon ko mana kar detein hain (I stop people for this (raising slogan).”
Earlier in a statement, Telengana Minister Vemula Prashant Reddy said that both JD(U) president Lalan Singh and Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav would join Tamil Nadu CM M.K. Stalin, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, B.R. Ambedkar’s grandson Prakash Ambedkar and others at a public meeting in Secunderabad. The public meeting will be held after the inauguration of the newly built Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Telangana secretariat building by Mr. Rao.
Last year, Mr. Rao had visited Patna to meet Mr. Kumar in a closed door meeting. RJD leader Mr. Yadav had also flown to Hyderabad to meet Mr. Rao, who has been working on a non-BJP and non-Congress Opposition parties’ alternative at the national level for some time.
However, Mr. Kumar claimed that the February event has nothing to do with Opposition unity. He mentioned that he’ll meet the Opposition party leaders and discuss the issue after the current Congress programme comes to an end. Mr. Kumar has been facing intra-party and intra-coalition issues that are threatening to affect the apparent bonhomie between the two ruling allies — JD(U) and RJD.
