The BJP has stated on multiple occasions that Nitish Kumar is the main ministerial face (Archive)
Patna:
With an associate like Nitish Kumar, anything is possible: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s huge compliment to Bihar’s chief minister was a highlight of his speech today on launching key projects in the state that will soon vote for a new assembly.
The comment served to underline the leadership of Nitish Kumar of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the Bihar elections that will be held in weeks and that he has the full backing of the Prime Minister. He also sent a message to another ally, Chirag Paswan, who has been publicly throwing darts at the Chief Minister and has made it clear that his Lok Janshakti Party is not very happy with Nitish Kumar’s leadership.
“If there is will and resolution and a sahyogi (associate) like Nitish Kumar, what is not possible? ”Said Prime Minister Modi, while speaking of rail projects that he said were delayed for years but accelerated the NDA.
In May, Paswan commented that he would support the BJP “whether he goes with the Nitish Kumar leadership or changes his mind.”
Since then, the BJP has stated several times that Nitish Kumar is the main ministerial face of the NDA and that the Bihar election will be fought under his leadership.
The prime minister said that projects that had been slowed down during the UPA (congressional-led alliance) government were completed in record time by the NDA.
In inaugurating several railway projects, Prime Minister Modi called the “Kosi Rail Mahasetu” a dream project of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Nitish Kumar, who at the time was Union Railway Minister. After the Vajpayee government, the project stalled, he said.
“In 2003, Atal ji was Prime Minister and Minister of Railways of Nitish ji when the new Kosi railway line was planned with the aim of solving the problems faced by the people of Mithila and Kosi,” Prime Minister Modi said.
The inauguration ceremony was held in 2003 by the former prime minister, but the following year, his government lost power. “If they (UPA) had cared about the people of Mithilanchal and the people of Bihar, then the Kosi railway line project would have been completed on time,” he said.
“In this period, who was in charge of Railways, who was the government, I don’t want to get into that but the truth is that if the speed of work had been the same under our government then the project would have taken years in full”, said the Prime Minister.
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