Nitish non-committal on Lalu's 'doors open' remark; Congress says he is 'welcome'

Patna: RJD president Lalu Prasad's claim that he kept his "doors open" for Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who had snapped their alliance a year ago, evoked a non-committal response from the JD(U) chief on Thursday.

While Prasad's remark was made light of by his own son and heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav, the Congress, which is RJD's ally in Bihar, said it would "welcome" the JD(U) boss if he demonstrated that he was a true follower of Mahatma Gandhi and dumped the BJP, which was "Godsewadi".

"Kya bol rahe hain (What are you saying)" was all Kumar said in response to queries from reporters about the fresh "offer" from Prasad, who spoke to a local news channel on the previous day.

Prasad had said, "Our doors are open (for Nitish). He should also unbolt his gates. This would facilitate movement of people from both sides".

The remark, coming in the backdrop of Union Home Minister Amit Shah's equivocal stance on projecting the JD(U) supremo as NDA's face in the assembly polls later this year, triggered intense speculations in a section of the media here.

All eyes were on Kumar when he reached Raj Bhavan to attend swearing-in ceremony of Arif Mohammad Khan as the new governor.

When Yadav, a former deputy CM and the current leader of opposition, greeted Kumar with a polite "namaste", the JD(U) supremo flashed a warm grin and patted the young leader on his shoulder. Their photograph was beamed all through the day by media outlets.

Soon after the ceremony, Kumar was greeted by a swarm of reporters waiting to get a few words from him.

Flanked by Khan and deputy CM Samrat Choudhary, Kumar folded his hands and smiled when his comments were sought on the offer from Prasad. Pressed further, he asked, "What are you saying".

When a pointed query was made, as to whether the state government would be able to complete its term, Khan intervened and said, "This is not the occasion for a question of this type. Today is a happy day. Let us only talk about good things".

Later, journalists approached Yadav who had also come to attend the function.

The young leader, who had on Wednesday declared that the new year will see "departure" of the NDA government headed by Nitish Kumar, said, "I have already made my stand clear".

When probed further, with reference to the utterances of his father, Yadav said, "What would he do if people like you keep coming to him with the same question? Whatever he said must have been aimed at putting an end to curiosity of you journalists."

Nonetheless, Congress legislative party leader Shakeel Ahmed Khan, whose party is an old RJD ally and has shared power whenever Kumar has been on their side, said the JD(U) supremo would be "welcome".

"Nitish Kumar's reverence for Mahatma Gandhi is well known. It is ironical that he has teamed up with 'Godsewadis'. They may do to him what they did to former CM Eknath Shinde in Maharashtra. If he decides to dump BJP, we will welcome it", said Khan.

Asked about Tejashwi Yadav's tough stance, the Congress leader said, "It is for the RJD to comment on words spoken by Lalu ji and his son. I have only expressed a view that is in line with my party's philosophy".

RJD spokesman Mrityunjay Tiwary said in a TV debate "Lalu ji had made the remark sarcastically after he was pestered with the same query again and again. But the fact is, Nitish Kumar is in dire straits. He has lost his credibility. The BJP calls him the NDA's face but, intriguingly, refrains from stating categorically that he will remain the CM".

Meanwhile, when questions about Prasad were posed to Union minister and former JD(U) president Rajiv Ranjan Singh "Lalan", he snapped.

"The NDA is strong. JD(U) and BJP are united. It is a free society and anybody can say whatever he pleases. It is for Lalu ji to say more on his own utterances", he said.