Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday said he has been invited by the Nepal Government to attend the Buddha jayanti celebrations at lumbini and he has forwarded the invitation letter to the Ministry of External Affairs for its consent.
About the invitation from the pro-prohibition groups from Dhanbad in Jharkhand and Varanasi and lucknow in UP, the CM told mediapersons on the sidelines of his janata darbar that he has accepted them and would go there. “I will try to go anywhere in the country if invited by the groups agitating against the liquor policy. But I have never said that I am planning a pan India campaign in favour of prohibition. However, this is a fact that people across the country are coming up in favour of prohibition,” said Nitish. He would go to Dhanbad on May 10, Varanasi on May 12-13 and to lucknow on May 15.
Reacting to JNUSU president Kanahaiya Kumar’s statement that liquor consumption and its trade was a fundamental right, the CM said he told him when Kumar came to meet him that it is the duty of the States to implement prohibition and many States did it. “Sometimes people say something due to lack of knowledge,” he added.
About his call for the unity among the non-BJP parties, Nitish said he was in favour of programme based maximum possible unity. The parties having no agreement with the policies of the BJP led NDA Government should have sort of unity and understanding, he added. “Its policies are not good for the democracy and intolerance is increasing. We need unity to challenge and counter them,” he said while reiterating that he was not in the race for the post of Prime Minister. He thanked NCP chief Sharad Pawar for his remarks that Nitish was the most suitable face for this post.
On the merger of the Rashtriya lok Dal of Ajit Singh in JD(U), Nitish who is also national president of JD(U) said its initiative had been made by Ajit Singh himself and if the plan hit some roadblock he could be asked about it. He said even if all the stakeholders agree the merger is not a simple process and takes time. First there should be mutual understanding, he said, then efforts should be made for programme based maximum possible unity, understanding and alliance.
On Augusta chopper issue, the CM said the ball was in the court of the Centre to conduct probe and take action against the culprits. But he added that Centre despite a CBI probe ordered by it was sitting over it and accusing rivals by using derogatory language. “They are not fulfilling their responsibilities and when name of their leaders crop up they go silent and then jump the guns when someone from opposition is suspected. This is their dual character,” he alleged.