Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ravi Shankar Prasad on Sunday hit out at Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar claiming that the JD(U) leader “pleaded” to make him the prime ministerial candidate. Speaking to news agency ANI, the former Union minister said that Nitish Kumar’s “dream” to become the prime minister would never fructify because the people of the country believe in PM Narendra Modi and his leadership.,
“Nitish Kumar has requested and pleaded to make him the prime ministerial candidate while he is unable to manage the state of Bihar. Be it Nitish Kumar or any other leader they should know that under the leadership of PM Modi the country has progressed significantly,” Prasad said.
Citing the recent Air India purchase order to Airbus and Boeing, the BJP leader recalled how US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak commended the deal for prospective job opportunities.
“Today you are seeing that the US President, the French President, the British Prime Minister are saying that jobs will be created there due to the purchase of aircraft,” Prasad said, adding that it has become possible because the people of India have given full majority Narendra Modi.
On Saturday, Nitish Kumar again emphasised the strength of a united opposition and urged the Congress to come together in the fight against the BJP for the upcoming general election. Speaking at the 11th general convention of CPI-ML, which supports the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ government in the state from outside, Nitish asserted that such a formation must take shape “at the earliest” so that the BJP could be bundled out for “less than 100” in the general elections next year.
“I want you people (Congress) to take a quick decision. If they take my suggestion and fight together, they (BJP) will go below 100 seats, but if they don’t take my suggestion, you know what will happen,” the chief minister said.
Hitting out at Nitish, Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “He isn’t able to handle Bihar, the state is in trouble. There is chaos in his party and you have gone to unite the country. Congress isn’t giving him any lift.”
“Nitish ji, do you want to become like Deve Gowda or Inder Kumar Gujral?” asked Prasad, referring to the United Front governments in the late 1990s that couldn’t even complete a year. “Such cases do not last more than five to six months,” he added.
The Bihar chief minister had earlier denied harbouring the ambition of becoming India’s prime minister.
