Patna, March 19: Having laid down on the table in Delhi the price for his support, Nitish Kumar today sent out another dare for his ally: the alliance is intact for now but the future’s not ours to see.
“As of now we (JD-U and BJP) are adhering to the common minimum programme and are working in mutual cooperation with each other on the issue of special category status to the state. Koi nahin janta ki bhavishya mein kya hoga… no one knows what the future holds,” Nitish said, intervening during the speech of Leader of Opposition Abdul Bari Siddiqui on the appropriation bill during the post-lunch session of the Assembly.
It is for the first time during the 17-year-old alliance that Nitish has sounded doubtful about the future of the deal, adding more grist to the buzz over the growing distance between the two parties ahead of the next Lok Sabha elections.
The chief minister has sent out as strong a feeler as an NDA partner possibly can to its prime rival, making it clear that his support was there to be taken if the Centre gave Bihar special category status. During his Adhikar Rally at Delhi’s Ramlila grounds on Sunday, Nitish reached out to the Congress — refusing to criticise on the issues — be it corruption, price rise or policy paralysis — that big brother BJP regularly beats its chief adversary with.
Yesterday, he met both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and finance minister P. Chidambaram and said he had received “clear hint” of support on his special status demand.
By putting his price on the table, Nitish has also been sending a message to the BJP against promoting Narendra Modi as the prime ministerial candidate.
The BJP today sounded cautious on the chief minister’s recent overtures. “We are alert to the situation emerging. The party will take the right decision at the right time,” deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi, considered close to Nitish and a proponent of the alliance, told The Telegraph.
Nitish, however, denied in the House that he had ignored his ally by converting the demand of special category status into a JD(U)-only agenda. “We (JD-U and BJP) are working in tandem with each other on the issue in our own ways. There should be no confusion that we (JD-U and BJP) are separate or divided on the issue that is for the betterment of the state,” he said. But he again harped on the future. “Bhavishya ke bare mein na hum jante hain aur na aap jante hain… Neither can we predict the future nor can you,” the chief minister said.
At this, Siddiqui, tongue firmly in cheek, said: “We are in no confusion. We are aware of how strong your bond is with the BJP and how much respect you have for the saffron leaders.” This prompted a sharp retort from Sushil Modi. “The RJD should not be mirthful,” he snapped back. “Tare tut kar RJD ke jholi mein nahin girega (The fallen star will not fall in the RJD’s kitty).”
