Taking a dig at the chief minister, BJP said that it’s time for Nitish to “go to ashram”. The ruling allies used slip of tongue to flaunt their bond.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, in a purported slip of tongue, addressed his deputy Tejashwi Yadav as “mukhyamantri” (chief minister) at an event in Patna on Tuesday. This gave enough fodder to the BJP to take jibes at the ruling alliance.
Taking a dig at the chief minister, the BJP said that it’s time for Nitish to “go to ashram”. The ruling allies used the “slip of tongue” to flaunt their bond.
Nitish Kumar referred to deputy CM as “mananiya mukhyamantri (honourable chief minister) Tejashwi Prasad Yadav” while introducing him on the dais at an Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Department event in the state capital on Tuesday.
Kumar did not correct this purported slip of slip of tongue and rather went ahead with his speech.
Taking to the occasion, BJP spokesperson Nikhil Anand said: “It appears Nitish Kumar has consciously or subconsciously accepted Tejashwi as CM. It is really time for Nitish Kumar to go to ashram.”
Notably, senior RJD leader Shivanand Tiwari had last week said that 70-plus age is an “age of going to ashram”, in an apparent jibe at Kumar.
Tiwari, however, said: “It may be a slip of tongue (but) we take it as a blessing of Nitish Kumar for nephew Tejashwi Yadav, who is surely a future leader of Bihar.”
The Indian Express quoted a senior JD(U) leader downplaying the purported slip-up by the Bihar CM and his party chief and cited the incident when Atal Bihar Vijapayee had addressed Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru as the prime minister during a speech.
The discussion around the "bond" between the uncle-nephew duo has been going around for quite some time. Soon after dumping the BJP to form government with the RJD-led grand alliance, Kumar had reportedly asked bureaucrats of the state to give as much importance to the Deputy CM as they give the CM.
While opening a new building at a hospital at Koelwar in Bhojpur district on September 17, Nitish and Tejashwi had cut separate ribbons together.
On September 9, while inaugurating the pitripaksh mela in Gaya, former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi had said that time is not far away when “Nitish would lead the country and Tejashwi would lead Bihar”.
Kumar often describing Tejashwi as the future leader of Bihar is indicative of his national plans. While the Bihar CM has repeatedly denied of being a PM contender in 2024, his moves to bring the opposition under one umbrella against the BJP have suggested otherwise.
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 "Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav - File Photo")
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