Country will never trust 'opportunistic' alliance: BJP on Nitish's bid to unite non-BJP parties

The BJP on Wednesday made light of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's attempt to unite opposition parties, saying the country has moved beyond such "opportunistic" alliances and is now strongly behind the strong and decisive leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

New Delhi:The BJP on Wednesday made light of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's attempt to unite opposition parties, saying the country has moved beyond such "opportunistic" alliances and is now strongly behind the strong and decisive leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Terming his first visit to the national capital after snapping ties with BJP-led NDA last month as a "political pilgrimage", former union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said he is travelling while Bihar has been hit by drought as well overflowing rivers amid daily occurrences of serious crimes like murder.

Kumar, who has generally enjoyed a clean image in his long political and administrative career, is now standing with those accused of grave corruption charges, the BJP leader said, in a reference to allegations against leaders of opposition parties including the Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress. Bihar's longest-serving chief minister has been meeting opposition leaders since arriving here on September 5, claiming that a united non-BJP formation can oust the ruling party from power in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

"He is trying to cobble together these parties but the country has moved beyond such opportunistic alliances after 2014 and will never trust another one," Prasad said. The country has since 2014 enjoyed stability and decisive leadership under Modi's leadership which has infused hope and new energy in the society while ushering in development, he asserted.

Modi has enhanced India's prestige and the country has left behind the UK to become the fifth largest economy, he added. The Patna Sahib MP also mocked Kumar over the speculation spurred by his own party colleagues and the ally RJD that he could be the opposition's prime ministerial face, wondering if the likes of Mamata Banerjee, K Chandrasekhar Rao and Arvind Kejriwal will relinquish their claim to the projection.

"He is the last one in the queue," Prasad said. The BJP leader also ridiculed Kumar's claim that a united opposition can reduce the BJP to a 50-seat tally in Lok Sabha and said he cannot object to someone daydreaming when asked about a JD(U) press release quoting Kumar as saying that the BJP will not get more than 50 seats in 2024 Lok Sabha seats if opposition parties unite.

Kumar had later clarified that he would not comment on numbers but insisted that the BJP will be ousted from power if the opposition unites. Prasad also noted how the Congress had brought down previous coalition governments headed by Chandra Shekhar, Deve Gowda and I K Gujral. (PTI)