Bihar alliance intact, Congress alone 'responsible for current mess' in Opposition, says Nitish Kumar

Replying to a volley of questions from reporters, the JD(U) leader asserted that there is no rift in Bihar's ruling alliance and urged them not to interpret differently.

New Delhi: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has played down rumours of an internal discord in the ruling 'Mahagathbandhan', saying that the alliance is still strong. 

Replying to a volley of questions from reporters, the JD(U) leader asserted that there is no rift in Bihar's ruling alliance and urged them not to interpret it differently.  

Asked about JD(U)'s 'absence' from the parliament's special GST roll-out session, Kumar said, "I was not invited to the event, so there is no point asking me the reason for not attending it." 

"There was no invitation, so where is the question of attending or skipping?" he added.   

Kumar also refused to disown his remarks slamming the Congress as the weakest link in the opposition.

Refuting the reports on a rift in the alliance, Nitish said that Party issues are discussed in the meeting I had said it in a context and there should be no interpretation outside.," he said.

At a meeting of leaders on Sunday Nitish said that that the Congress alone was 'responsible for the current mess' in the Opposition.

"The Congress is a big party and it has its own thought process and we have to work accordingly if it wishes to challenge him effectively in the general election in 2019," Kumar said.

For an effective opposition, "there must be a narrative - not just in reaction to what the BJP offers, but an alternative narrative." 

He also denied that he has aspirations of being declared the opposition's Prime Ministerial candidate for that election. 

He said that "We have always supported GST as it will provide transparency to the system. It is a reform and it has to evolve with the time, minor issues will have to be sorted out. There is no point in asking me why I did not attend it, there was no invitation then, where is the question of attending or skipping?" 

On Sushil Modi he said that "He has a habit of giving statements daily, I don't read and neither do I have interest."

(With ANI inputs)