Didn’t have any choice, says Nitish Kumar on snapping ties with RJD

Patna: Clarifying the reason behind the collapse of the Grand Alliance government in Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday said that he was not left with any choice as he cannot tolerate corruption at any cost.

"I tolerated a lot since the very beginning (of the tenure of the Grand Alliance government). I thought this happens in alliance and continued to work. But the things got out of control this time," said Nitish Kumar during a press conference here.

"I was not left with any choice, as I have always possessed a zero-tolerance attitude towards corruption," he said, adding, "I had asked (Tejashwi Yadav) to explain the corruption allegations, but he did not do that. If he had followed what I said, the situation could have been different."

It may be recalled that Nitish Kumar recently snapped ties with RJD over the corruption charges levelled against former Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, the younger son of RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav.

He also blamed the RJD leaders of acquiring assets through illegal means.

"They were minting money illegally under the name of being a secular party. Is this the meaning of secularism?” he questioned.

He also refused to shift his support to NDA's vice presidential candidate M Venkaiah Naidu, Nitish Kumar said, "We will continue to support Opposition's candidate Gopal Krishna Gandhi," adding, "BJP does not have any problem with that."

He also praised PM Modi, saying, "No one is capable enough to challenge Modi ji in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections."

Pointing out the reason behind Janata Dal United (JDU) joining hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Nitish said, "The alliance proposal came from the top leadership of the BJP. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted to congratulate the formation of new government in the state."

Also Read: Murder accused Nitish Kumar has to resign as Bihar CM: RJD

It may be recalled that Bihar BJP chief Sushil Kumar Modi, who has now been appointed the Deputy CM of the state, had offered support to Nitish Kumar if he sacked corruption accused Tejashwi Yadav.

Earlier in the day, a distressed Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), following the collapse of the Grand Alliance, attacked CM Nitish Kumar saying that being a 'murder accused' he must step down.

"Nitish Kumar is a patron to the criminals. He himself is an accused in 1991 Sitaram murder case, which makes him ineligible to hold the post of the Chief Minister of the state," said senior RJD leader Jagdanand Singh during a press conference.

Showing the video tape of the victim's family, RJD leader sought Nitish Kumar's resignation.