On June 19, Union Minister Anurag Thakur lashed out at the Opposition parties’ meeting in Bihar. The Opposition parties’ meeting is scheduled to take place in Bihar’s capital Patna.
While talking to the media in Mumbai, Thakur said, “Those opposition parties that are going to Bihar must ask Nitish Kumar about the corruption that is going on there…this shouldn’t be an alliance of corrupted parties. They should also say who is the leader of their alliance…”.
The Union Minister continued his attack on Bihar’s Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. He stated, “The opposition leaders going to Bihar must ask Nitish Kumar about the Rs 1,750 crore bridge, which has collapsed like a pack of cards several times. They should also ask him about the ambulance scam worth several crores of rupees and scams carried out by builders”.
Earlier on June 18, senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad talked about the upcoming Opposition meet. He said, “Who will be their (Opposition) PM face?… There is friction between them. This is an alliance of selfish people for power. Since they can’t take on PM Modi alone, they are trying to do it together…India wants a fixed govt, not a bunch of people who keep fighting with each other”.
Even Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also talked about the upcoming meeting of anti-BJP parties scheduled in Bihar, “Several opposition leaders are going to share the stage in Patna on June 23. A photo of the same leaders taken in 2019 had 52 leaders, but the main opposition party, Congress could win only 48 seats. No matter how many creepers come together, it cannot be an alternative to a banyan tree”.
Notably, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has called a meeting of top Opposition leaders to stitch a grand alliance against BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The meeting will be held in Patna on June 23, JD(U) national president Lalan Singh said earlier.
Earlier on June 16, Nitish Kumar claimed that the Lok Sabha elections might be held earlier than scheduled due to the growing unity of the Opposition. He stated, “What I said was in jest, but the possibility cannot be ruled out. The current dispensation may feel that if our opposition unity bid gathered momentum, it would inflict on them bigger losses. So they could take recourse to early polls”.
Nitish Kumar speculated that the current government might perceive a growing Opposition unity as a threat that could result in significant losses for them, prompting them to consider early polls. He stated, “I have warned all the parties and asked all opposition parties must come together to defeat the BJP in the coming Lok Sabha polls. We must start preparations after the June 23 meeting”.
In this grand Opposition meeting, apart from Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, and DMK supremo MK Stalin, other prominent Opposition figures who would be present at the meeting include Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, West Bengal’s CM Mamata Banerjee, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.
JDU loses Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Support
On June 19, Jitan Ram Manjhi’s party Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), withdrew its support to JGU, giving a huge setback to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The former Bihar chief minister had formally cut ties with JDU by submitting a letter on withdrawal of support to Governor Rajendra Arlekar in Patna, Bihar. There is a possibility that HAM may join BJP led alliance ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Recently on June 13, Jitan Ram Manjhi’s son Santosh Suman also tendered his resignation from the post of Minister in the Bihar government. Suman was in the cabinet of the Nitish Kumar-led Government and was the Minister of SC, ST welfare. Santosh Suman met with the senior leader of Janata Dal-United Vijay Chaudhary and submitted his resignation from the cabinet. It’s been learnt that Suman was accompanied by his father during the meeting.
Reacting to Suman’s resignation Janata Dal-United national president Lalan Singh said that “Small shops are not viable in the current political situation”. He added, “His resignation will have no impact on our grand alliance. As many as 27 opposition parties are coming together”.
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