New Delhi:
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has made it clear to the BJP that he will not accept Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as the prime ministerial candidate for 2014. And this evening, after the cabinet met in Patna, he stuck to his stand. Asked for to clarify his stand, the Bihar CM quipped, "The interview is given once and not time and again. Golden words are not repeated everyday."
Mr Kumar partners with the BJP in Bihar, and is a member of the BJP-led national coalition, the NDA.
Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi, who is from the BJP, agrees to his stand. "The PM should be like Atal Behari Vajpayee, he said, "someone who is acceptable to everyone." This is not the first time that Sushil Modi has opposed the Gujarat Chief Minister. Over the ouster of Sanjay Joshi from BJP, Sushil Modi maintained that party should not surrender to the whims of an indvidual, referring to Narendra Modi who had made Mr Joshi removal a prestige issue at last month's BJP national executive meet.
In an interview to The Economic Times, Mr Kumar has said that he does not aspire to run for Prime Minister himself. "I am not in the race for PM. I cannot even dream of that high office. The prime minister should be from the bigger party. We can only play a supporting role," he said. He stressed that the BJP must reveal its prime ministerial candidate before the 2014 general elections, so that voters know who they are selecting. (Read the article here)
Without naming Mr Modi, he eliminated the Gujarat chief minister with a series of remarks. He said the NDA should have a leader who understands the needs of under-developed places like Bihar. He stressed that it's essential that the candidate have secular credentials.
Mr Modi's prime ministerial ambitions were lifted at a recent meeting of the BJP in Mumbai, where the party gave in to his demand to sack rival Sanjay Joshi, in order to ensure Mr Modi would attend the session. He did, and stole the show. A few days ago, at a rally, he targeted politicians in Bihar for indulging in caste politics, which had contributed to the backwardness of Bihar. Mr Kumar retorted that he did not need sermons. The two men have an uneasy equation despite being senior leaders in their coalition. Mr Kumar has refused to let Mr Modi campaign in Bihar in the last general and state elections. He was concerned that Mr Modi, tainted by communal riots in his home state in 2002, would dent his image as a secular leader favoured by Bihar's Muslim voters.
When asked if Bihar remains off-limits to Mr Modi, he said to The Economic Times that the state unit of the BJP has capable leaders who can campaign locally. He also said that he has a cordial relationship with the Bihar unit of the BJP, but "if someone is bent on spoiling this relationship, I cannot help it."
Mr Kumar is also opposed to the BJP's attempts to put up a candidate for President of India against Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.The BJP was hoping that former president APJ Abdul Kalam would run for a second term. He declined yesterday. The party is now considering backing former Speaker PA Sangma. Mr Kumar has stressed that the President should be elected by consensus, and has praised Mr Mukherjee.
The Congress was quick to seize the chance to take a swipe at Mr Modi. Law Minister Salman Khurshid said, "We are secular country and our PM should be secular.Whosoever becomes the Prime Minister, they are responsible for the whole nation. They can't be biased."
Mr Kumar partners with the BJP in Bihar, and is a member of the BJP-led national coalition, the NDA.
Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi, who is from the BJP, agrees to his stand. "The PM should be like Atal Behari Vajpayee, he said, "someone who is acceptable to everyone." This is not the first time that Sushil Modi has opposed the Gujarat Chief Minister. Over the ouster of Sanjay Joshi from BJP, Sushil Modi maintained that party should not surrender to the whims of an indvidual, referring to Narendra Modi who had made Mr Joshi removal a prestige issue at last month's BJP national executive meet.
In an interview to The Economic Times, Mr Kumar has said that he does not aspire to run for Prime Minister himself. "I am not in the race for PM. I cannot even dream of that high office. The prime minister should be from the bigger party. We can only play a supporting role," he said. He stressed that the BJP must reveal its prime ministerial candidate before the 2014 general elections, so that voters know who they are selecting. (Read the article here)
Without naming Mr Modi, he eliminated the Gujarat chief minister with a series of remarks. He said the NDA should have a leader who understands the needs of under-developed places like Bihar. He stressed that it's essential that the candidate have secular credentials.
Mr Modi's prime ministerial ambitions were lifted at a recent meeting of the BJP in Mumbai, where the party gave in to his demand to sack rival Sanjay Joshi, in order to ensure Mr Modi would attend the session. He did, and stole the show. A few days ago, at a rally, he targeted politicians in Bihar for indulging in caste politics, which had contributed to the backwardness of Bihar. Mr Kumar retorted that he did not need sermons. The two men have an uneasy equation despite being senior leaders in their coalition. Mr Kumar has refused to let Mr Modi campaign in Bihar in the last general and state elections. He was concerned that Mr Modi, tainted by communal riots in his home state in 2002, would dent his image as a secular leader favoured by Bihar's Muslim voters.
When asked if Bihar remains off-limits to Mr Modi, he said to The Economic Times that the state unit of the BJP has capable leaders who can campaign locally. He also said that he has a cordial relationship with the Bihar unit of the BJP, but "if someone is bent on spoiling this relationship, I cannot help it."
Mr Kumar is also opposed to the BJP's attempts to put up a candidate for President of India against Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.The BJP was hoping that former president APJ Abdul Kalam would run for a second term. He declined yesterday. The party is now considering backing former Speaker PA Sangma. Mr Kumar has stressed that the President should be elected by consensus, and has praised Mr Mukherjee.
The Congress was quick to seize the chance to take a swipe at Mr Modi. Law Minister Salman Khurshid said, "We are secular country and our PM should be secular.Whosoever becomes the Prime Minister, they are responsible for the whole nation. They can't be biased."
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