Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Tuesday sought to make light of Union Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to Sitab Diyara, the village where Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Narayan was born, on his 120th birth anniversary.
“Whoever may come and go, it does not affect me (koi aae ya jaae humko koi fark nahin padta hai),” was Kumar's curt reply to journalists' queries whether he thought that Shah's visit was an attempt to appropriate the legacy of 'JP'.
The JD(U) leader also said he will be in Nagaland later in the day to attend a function held there in honour of the legendary socialist leader. Jaya Prakash Narayan had spent three years in the 1960s in the north eastern state, where he is still revered by the local residents.
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Kumar said that on Wednesday he will leave for Saifai, the ancestral residence of Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav who died on Monday. An NDA ally for a major part of his political career, Kumar snapped ties with BJP in August following accusations that the party was trying to split JD(U) and has since been trying to forge opposition unity ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The visit of Shah, along with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, to Sitab Diyara was the second trip of the union home minister to Bihar in less than a month. BJP sources said that Shah, regarded as the party's principal strategist, has vowed to visit Bihar every month to boost the morale of its cadre, which now has to fight a formidable 'Mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance) of seven parties. The alliance comprises of the JD(U), Lalu Prasad's RJD, Congress and three Left parties.
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(With PTI inputs)
