Nitish Kumar: The JD(U) party later cited health concerns as the reason why Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar abruptly cancelled a trip to Tamil Nadu for the inaugural ceremony of a memorial honouring DMK founder M Karunanidhi on Tuesday. Three days out from the big opposition summit in Patna, where the DMK is one of the confirmed attendees, a new development has occurred.
Nitish Kumar’s Absence Fuels Speculations of Political Rifts
Tejashwi Yadav, the deputy chief minister of Bihar, and Sanjay K. Jha, the minister of water resources, attended the event in Nitish’s place. On June 23, a meeting of over 20 opposition parties is planned for Patna. The right perceptions would have been set before the gathering had Nitish attended the Kalaignar event. The Bihar Congress had projected Rahul Gandhi as the “future PM” as part of its spectacular welcome for the Congress leader for the Patna meeting, and Nitish was rumoured to have taken exception to this. His decision to cancel put an end to rumours that Nitish felt this way. According to some, the Congress is concerned about Nitish’s growing stature in relation to the Patna conference, and the JD(U) leader may have felt that a well-publicized picture session with Stalin, a Congress supporter in Tamil Nadu, right before the Opposition gathering was avoidable.
Must Read: Ethnic Tensions Escalate in Manipur! Court to Revisit Meitei Community’s Scheduled Tribes Status
Political Parties Respond to Speculations and Assert Unity Ahead of Opposition Meet in Patna
Asit Nath Tiwari, the spokeswoman for the Congress, rejected this, saying: “We certainly take Rahul Gandhi as the next prime minister, but everyone knows he cannot run in the 2024 elections (following his conviction in a defamation case).” People are making a big deal out of Nitish Kumar’s decision to skip Tamil Nadu due to his health. There is nothing wrong with a party considering its leader to be the next prime minister, but that is not a problem here (at the Patna convention),” JD(U) main national spokesperson KC Tyagi told The Indian Express. Making the Patna meeting a huge success is our goal. Due to health issues, Nitish Kumar was unable to attend the M K Karunanidhi memorial service. He also mentioned the considerable effort Nitish had made to unite the various Opposition parties in Patna on a one platform. Stalin also seems eager to put any concerns to rest. The DMK leader stressed “the need to defeat the BJP in 2024” during the Kalaignar Kottam occasion, which was held in Chennai as part of the centenary celebrations for Karunanidhi. Stalin stated there was a “urgency to quench the wildfire,” which he said has “spread across India since the BJP came to power in 2014,” likening democracy to a lamp lit at home and authoritarianism to a wildfire. He emphasised how excited he was to attend the Patna meeting. “To put out the fire, CM Nitish Kumar will ignite the first lamp of democracy in Patna. I’ll be visiting Patna as well. I am coming to Patna as a representative of Karunanidhi’s legacy, Stalin assured the audience. “The legacy of Tamil Nadu, which is thousands of years old, will be erased if I don’t go to Patna.”
Must Read: 75 US Legislators Call on President Biden to Address Human Rights Concerns with PM Modi
Keep watching our YouTube Channel ‘DNP INDIA’. Also, please subscribe and follow us on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, and TWITTER