New Delhi: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday (October 11, 2022) said that Union Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to Sitab Diyara, the village in the state where Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Narayan was born, doesn't affect him.
"Koi aaye ya jaaye humko koi farak nahin padta hai (Whoever may come and go, it does not affect me)," Nitish quipped when asked by journalists whether he thought Shah's visit was an attempt to appropriate the legacy of 'JP'.
लोकनायक जयप्रकाश नारायण के जन्मदिवस के अवसर पर आयोजित राजकीय समारोह में लोकनायक की प्रतिमा पर माननीय मुख्यमंत्री श्री नीतीश कुमार जी ने माल्यार्पण कर अपने श्रद्धा सुमन अर्पित किये pic.twitter.com/5ZCXKip1Yj
— Janata Dal (United) (@Jduonline) October 11, 2022
His remarks came after Shah addressed a rally in Sitab Diara at the birthplace of Jayaprakash, popularly known as JP, in Bihar's Saran district and unveiled a 15-feet high statue of the socialist icon.
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.
An NDA ally for a major part of his political career, Nitish Kumar snapped ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in August following accusations that the party was trying to split JD(U).
According to reports, Shah 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 led by Nitish comprises of the JD(U), Lalu Prasad Yadav's RJD, Congress and three Left parties.
Nitish Kumar is 'power hungry': Amit Shah
Earlier in the day, Shah said that those who claim themselves to be disciples of Jayaprakash Narayan have sacrificed his socialist ideology, in an apparent dig at the Mahagathbandhan government in Bihar.
"He is power hungry, and for power, he sacrificed JP's ideologies and joined hands with the Congress. He has nothing to do with the ideologies of JP," Shah said, in an apparent reference to Nitish Kumar.
जेपी का नाम लेकर राजनीति में आये लोग अब पांच-पांच बार पाला बदलकर जेपी के सिद्धांतों को दरकिनार कर चुके हैं।
और आज सत्ता सुख के लिए उसी कांग्रेस की गोदी में बैठ गए हैं। pic.twitter.com/cGH5XXH8gq
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) October 11, 2022
"Only Prime Minister Narendra Modi is working for the poor and the weaker sections of the society, for whom JP was concerned. This is the reason the Centre launched 'Antyodaya Anna Yojna' and Ujjwala Yojna, among others. He (Modi) is a firm believer in JP's ideology," the home minister said.
Shah also credited the prime minister for the installation of JP's statue, a project of the Union Culture Ministry.
"The Hazaribagh jail escape of JP, his call for 'total revolution', his historic address at Patna's Gandhi Maidan and his struggle during the days of Emergency are his legacy," he said.
(With agency inputs)
