The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Friday said chief minister Nitish Kumar was "Prime Minister material" given his long political and administrative innings and backed his call for a "Sangh mukt Bharat (RSS-free India)".

"Nitish Kumar is PM material. The JDU workers' claim is not off the mark," NCP national general secretary Tariq Anwar said. "Nitish has been chief minister thrice, has been a Union minister and has a long political and administrative experience. In fact he has emerged from the political agitation (of the 1970s)."

Backing Nitish's call for an RSS-free India, Tariq - who was Union minister of state for agriculture in the UPA-II government - said the NCP will join any alliance with this goal in mind because the party believed in "a country free of communalism and intolerance".

Tariq, however, evaded questions comparing Nitish with Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and asking who among the two was more suitable to be Prime Minister. "It is still three more years before the next Lok Sabha polls," Tariq said. "It would be premature to say anything right now on who would or should be the next Prime Minister."

In a democracy, leadership could not be imposed, Tariq said. "When any alliance is formed, the decision on leadership is taken after weighing all parties and their suitability to defeat the BJP and the RSS. "If an alliance is formed, any single party cannot dominate it. All political compulsions are taken into consideration," Tariq said.

The Lok Sabha MP from Katihar said political polarisation had set in and all parties believing in secularism and communal harmony should come together.

He felt the Congress should be very much a part of any such alliance. "Any anti-BJP alliance without the Congress would be meaningless and unfruitful," he said.

He said he felt Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government was fanning intolerance in the country. "Statements issued by ministers in the Modi government show there is no discipline at the Centre. Hatred and intolerance are rising in the country."

He also pointed out that the BJP government had done nothing to fulfil promises made to the youth, to bring back black money stashed abroad, or provide employment, but ministers like Giriraj Singh were shooting their mouths off and trying to fan communal tensions.

Giriraj, while speaking at Bagaha in West Champaran district on Thursday, had said that a law should be brought in to restrict a two-kid norm on people of all religions.