In 45-Minute Presser, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Seems To Aim For Best BJP Ally Status

Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar would've racked up considerable brownie points with the BJP on Monday when, in a span of about 45 minutes, he backed his new ally on an array of issues, including its attack on his old ally and the Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi for his recent comments at a US University about dynastic politics in India.  

Since he dumped the Congress and Lalu Yadav less than two months ago and partnered with the BJP to run the Bihar Government, Nitish Kumar has seemed to aim at most-loyal-ally status by regularly agreeing with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party, and today was no different as the Chief Minister addressed a press conference.  
 The Chief Minister once again supported Prime Minister Modi on his effort to push for simultaneous state and general elections and echoed the BJP on its response to Rahul Gandhi's remarks at the University of California, Berkeley last week, when the Congress leader said "most of India runs like this" when asked about dynastic politics.

"This was started by the Congress, we oppose it in principle. If dynasts have reached somewhere then people with no dynasty to back them have also reached the top....if you compare the performance of those politicians who came without any previous political background with dynast politicians the former have always outperformed," Mr Kumar said, much like the BJP, which attacked Rahul Gandhi as a "failed dynast" and gave examples of PM Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind as people who rose to the top without being born in influential families.
 Asked about the BJP government's decision to deport Rohingya Muslims, Nitish Kumar, whose Janata Dal United counts on Muslim support in Bihar, offered no comment except to say his party is yet to formulate a stand, though he did say that personally he would pitch for "insaniyat" (humanity).

Even on bringing petroleum products under the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which he has earlier opposed, Nitish Kumar said today that he would hold discussions with the BJP and frame his final response.

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The Bihar Chief Minister also brought up the murder of Gauri Lankesh in Bengaluru earlier this month, expressing concern that the police in Congress-ruled Karnataka have been unable to make any headway in finding the killers. If this had happened in Bihar, he said, opposition parties would've raised a massive hue and cry.