Political strategist Prashant Kishore fired yet another salvo at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday, challenging him to ask Rajya Sabha deputy chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh—a senior JD(U) leader—to quit his post. Kishor's latest jibe came a day after Nitish rubbished his claim that the JD(U) supremo was still in touch with the BJP.
"Nitish Kumar ji, if you have nothing to do with the BJP/NDA, then ask your MP to quit the post of deputy chairman of Rajya Sabha. You can’t have both ways all the time,” Kishor tweeted.
#NitishKumar ji if you have nothing to do with BJP / NDA then ask your MP to quit the post of Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha.
— Prashant Kishor (@PrashantKishor) October 22, 2022
You can’t have both ways all the time.
The political strategist had on Thursday claimed that Nitish was in touch with the BJP and he might once again tie up with the saffron party if the situation demands.
Kishor had told news agency PTI that Nitish has kept a line of communication open with the BJP through Harivansh. "After having snapped ties with the BJP, Nitish Kumar should have asked Harivansh to step down. If he insisted on occupying the post, he could have been expelled from the JD(U). But Nitish is having this arrangement to keep options open for the future," he had said.
The chief minister has dismissed Kishor's claims and said he makes such statements just for publicity.
"What should I say on this. He (Kishor) keeps talking rubbish. He makes such statements just for his publicity. Everybody knows that he is working for which party," Nitish said.
Nitish snapped his ties with the BJP in August and joined hands with the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress to form a Mahagathbandhan government in Bihar.
Kishor was in the JD(U) for less than 18 months before being expelled from the party in 2020 for his strident criticism of Nitish for his support to the BJP over contentious measures like the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
