Patna:
As Rahul Gandhi kicked up a political storm today by calling an ordinance by the government to protect convicted MPs and MLAs "complete nonsense", Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar endorsed the Congress vice president's statement.
"We had expressed our views earlier and whatever Rahul Gandhi has said today, I think, is correct," the Bihar chief minister said in Patna this evening.
Mr Gandhi, 43, had made a surprise appearance at a press conference this afternoon and suggested that the ordinance "should be torn up and thrown away."
"I personally think what the government is doing on the ordinance is wrong. It was a political decision, every party does it, and there is a time to stop this nonsense...If we actually want to stop corruption then we cannot make these compromises," the Congress's number 2 had said.
The ordinance seeks to partially undo a Supreme Court order that elected representatives convicted and sentenced to over two years in prison would be disqualified immediately. The ordinance allows such legislators to continue in office, without salary or voting rights, if a higher court stays the conviction on appeal.
Mr Kumar had yesterday criticised the UPA government for bringing the ordinance from the 'backdoor.' He had said, "What was the need for bringing an ordinance through backdoor ... It would have been better if the amendment bill was passed by Parliament after debate."
Asked if the ordinance was brought by the Congress-led UPA to benefit Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) President Lalu Prasad, who faces disqualification if a Jharkhand court convicts him on Monday in the multi-crore fodder scam, Mr Kumar without naming took a dig at him saying "Everybody knows who stands to gain from it (the ordinance)."