'Bihar reeling under Nitish Kumar's opportunism'

Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Manoj Jha has said the BJP will finish off its ally - the JDU - either as a friend or as an enemy. His comments come a day after JDU leader Nitish Kumar said he could not understand who is an enemy and who is a friend.

New Delhi: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha on Sunday chided Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, saying while India was worried about Chinese expansionism and the state of Bihar is worried regarding Nitish's opportunism.

"While the country is worrying and suffering because of Chinese expansionism, Bihar is reeling under Nitish Kumar's opportunism who, with merely 40 seats, went on to become the Chief Minister under what he terms as 'pressure on him'," Jha said.

The statement comes a day after the Bihar Chief Minister said that he could not understand who his friend or enemy was ahead of state Assembly elections and hence the party suffered massive losses in the elections.

Earlier on Saturday, Kumar in a cryptic message to its ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party, had said, "We failed to anticipate who our friends were and were not, and on whom we should have trusted. After the election campaign, we got to understand that things were not conducive for us but by that time it was too late."

Reacting to the Chief Minister's statement, Jha said, "I have not seen such a helpless man in my life. The public does not go into his rhetorical statement. It is really a fact. The Chief Minister's remaining ideological capital is opportunism. On the one side, the country is worried about China's expansionism, on the other Bihar is for dealing with Nitish's opportunism," Jha said.

The professor-turned-politician further added that the BJP will ultimately finish off the JD(U) -- as a friend or foe.

Earlier yesterday, Kumar had stated that the issue of his Cabinet expansion was not taken up for discussion during the talks he had with top BJP leaders at his official residence. By winning 74 seats against the JD(U)'s tally of 43, the BJP is said to be insistent on having a bigger share of the pie.

(ANI)