Bangalore, June 26: Railway minister and senior Samata Party leader Nitish Kumar today said his party was not bothered about recent comments by BJP leaders on the Ayodhya row and asserted that it was committed to the NDA stand on resolving the dispute either by court or negotiations. "What BJP leaders are saying...We are not bothered about it," Kumar told reporters here.

Maintaining that the NDA stand had constantly been to resolve the dispute either through the court or negotiations, he said the party joined the alliance based on this assurance and stood by it.

Dismissing speculations about defence minister and Samata president George Fernandes contesting from Mangalore in the next elections, Kumar said Fernandes would contest from Nalanda in Bihar.

"If George (Fernandes) takes my opinion, he should contest the election from his constituency, Nalanda and from Bihar, where there is a base for his party," Kumar said.

Karnataka Samata Party president I M Jayara Shetty had also yesterday said Fernandes was unwilling to contest from his home state.

On speculations that Union minister of state for consumer affairs Srinivasa Prasad might shift from Samata to Congress in Karnataka, he said, "I don't believe in it. Why should he move to the Congress".

Kumar said there was no plan to advance the next general elections and it would be held as scheduled after the present Lok Sabha completed its five-year term.

Bureau Report