Nitish Kumar indicated crackdown on RJD leaders was “politically motivated”

Patna:

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday hinted that he agreed with the competition of ally RJD that the current crackdown on its president Lalu Prasad and his relations by the CBI and ED was “politically motivated”.

This was in distinction to the stand he took in 2017, when he had wished the ally to return clear on fees of corruption.

The JD(U) chief additionally rubbished speculations that he was sustaining an eloquent silence on the difficulty due to anxieties about tarnishing his personal picture for probity by aligning with “tainted” politicians and will even be considering of breaking away with the “Mahagathbandhan”, which moreover RJD, additionally contains Congress and the Left.

Kumar was approached with queries by journalists who wished to learn about his views on the questioning of Lalu Prasad and his spouse Rabri Devi by CBI earlier this week, adopted by raids carried out on quite a lot of premises, together with homes of his three daughters and a daughter in legislation by ED on Friday and a recent summons issued by the CBI to youthful son and Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav.

In a video assertion, RJD Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Kumar Jha warned that folks of Bihar will take to the streets upon studying that Yadav’s “pregnant spouse was taken ailing with hypertension” due to the ED raids at her home that “continued until 4 am at the moment”.

“What do I’ve to say, those that are on the receiving finish are giving an enough response,” stated Kumar in his trademark enigmatic model, earlier than including, “comparable issues had occurred in 2017 once I was on this aspect (within the anti-BJP camp). Now that I’m right here once more, this stuff are occurring once more.” The allusion was to the land for resorts case through which the ED had named, together with others, Yadav, who was the Deputy CM then as properly, and Kumar recalled having requested the younger RJD chief to “clarify” his aspect of the story and the BJP having exploited the scenario to its benefit.

Kumar was understood to have requested Yadav to resign his ministerial berth on ethical grounds for the interval until his title was cleared, a proposition to which the RJD didn’t agree. The JD(U) chief himself resigned as chief minister, in disgust, and the BJP, his former ally, got here with the provide of unconditional help.

Subsequently, Kumar shaped a brand new authorities with the BJP, in lower than 24 hours of resigning.

“I don’t want to take any names as a result of the individual (in BJP) who got here to me with the provide of help might get additional marginalised in his occasion,” stated Kumar, however dropped his guard when journalists discovered the clue and talked about former Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi.

“What do I say about Sushil Kumar Modi. I needn’t repeat that I by no means wished him to endure his present destiny. However he’s welcome to maintain talking in opposition to me. Perhaps it’ll resurrect him politically,” stated Kumar, visibly upset over the tirade in opposition to himself by the previous deputy ever since he dumped the BJP in August final yr.

Kumar additionally made gentle of his JD(U) not being a signatory to the current letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in protest in opposition to CBI arresting Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, and stated, “I can be there when all events (against BJP) conform to unitedly combat the following Lok Sabha polls.”

The JD(U) chief, nevertheless, reiterated, “I’ve no (prime ministerial) ambitions for myself. I had made it clear even on the current conference of CPIML(L) the place all constituents of the Mahagathbandhan have been current. I had even requested the Congress to take the lead in forging oppositional unity.” To a pointed query as as to whether he may consider pulling out of the “opposition camp” due to corruption instances in opposition to leaders of most non-NDA events, he exclaimed, “The query doesn’t come up.”

(Apart from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV workers and is printed from a syndicated feed.)