Patna, April 16: Chief minister Nitish Kumar - freshly elected as the JDU national president - today declared that there was no space for a third force.

"It's the BJP and its allies on one side and the rest on the other. We cannot afford to fight polls separately. Ram Manohar Lohia had once given a call to all parties to unite against the Congress. Today, the same thing is relevant for an anti-BJP front," he said at the Advantage Conclave Bihar 3.0 - Umeed Ki Udaan.

He also took pot shots at the BJP. "They are trying to make the national flag an issue when they do not have any contribution in the freedom struggle," he said.

Nitish also sought to rubbish speculation about differences within the Grand Alliance. "There is no difference or bitterness," he said.

Talking about his 17-year-long association with BJP, Nitish said he had no trouble in working with the party when Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L.K. Advani were at the helm. "I did not face any trouble even with local BJP leaders. But there came a time when a certain ideology was being promoted. Had I remained silent then, people would have said I remained silent for the sake of power. We joined the BJP at a time when nobody was willing to have any business with them," he added.

Nitish also talked about his government's resolve to teach spoken English to Bihar youths. "I think the youths of Bihar face a complex as they are not able to express themselves in English during job interviews," Nitish said.

Nitish stressed that he would like to improve higher education. "During the past five years, we have opened new educational institutes like Chanakya National Law University, Aryabhatta Knowledge University and Chandragupta Institute of Management. I have already announced setting up of a riverside research institute and a nano technology institute. The gross enrolment ratio of Bihar is just 13 per cent. It means only 13 per cent of youths in Bihar go for higher education. I want this to go up to 50 per cent," he stressed.

The chief minister stuck to his stand in implementing total prohibition.

"Do Buddhists or devotees of Guru Govind Singh come to Bihar to drink liquor?" he asked. He said after total prohibition, crimes have come down. "Heinous crimes are executed under the influence of liquor," he said, stressing that after the ban, villages have become peaceful and the men now help their wives in cooking after they return home. He reasserted his commitment to implement the seven resolves during the next five years.