The BJP in Bihar on Thursday slammed Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over his meeting with Uddhav Thackeray and reminded him of the Shiv Sena's alleged excesses against Hindi-speaking migrants.
State BJP chief Samrat Choudhary accused Kumar of having "appeared in court (darbaar mein haazir hue)" of Thackeray, referring to the JD(U) leader’s visit to Mumbai as part of a drive to forge nationwide opposition unity ahead of Lok Sabha polls.
"Kumar runs his JD(U) like a fiefdom. It is true for all regional parties. A reason why he also takes along, on his excursions, the crown prince (yuvraaj)", said Choudhary, referring to Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav, who accompanied his boss to Mumbai.
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"Now the Bihar CM must answer to the people of the state who are looking in disgust since memories of humiliation at the hands of the Shiv Sena is still fresh in their minds", said Choudhary.
Interestingly, the BJP had been a staunch ally of the Shiv Sena and their ties continued till Thackeray pulled out of the NDA to join the "Maha Vikas Aghadi" and become the Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
The BJP is now back in power in the western state, with Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde as the CM. The Shiv Sena, founded by the charismatic Balasaheb Thackeray, the father of Uddhav, has suffered a split.
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Choudhary was talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function here where spokesperson Suheli Mehta joined the BJP.
Mehta was sacked from the JD(U) last year because of her perceived closeness to RCP Singh, a former national president of the party who ran afoul of Nitish Kumar, the supreme leader.
Notably, Mehta’s induction took place barely an hour after Singh joined the BJP at Delhi, in presence of Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Another pro-RCP Singh expelled JD(U) leader, Ajay Alok, had joined the BJP recently.
Meanwhile, state JD(U) president Umesh Singh Kushwaha made light of Singh joining the BJP and said "there is nothing new. He (RCP) was, in any case, working for them".
Notably, RCP had been accused, by the JD(U), of trying to engineer a "split" in the party at the behest of the BJP.
-With PTI Input
