He can get me shot, can’t do anything else: Nitish on Lalu’s ‘visarjan’ claim

Bihar chief minister and Janata Dal (United) supremo Nitish Kumar on Tuesday took a dig at Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Yadav over the latter’s “visarjan” remark. The chief minister said Yadav can get him “shot” if he wants to, but would not be able to do anything else.

“If he wants, he can get me shot. But he cannot do anything else,” Kumar said.

Earlier in the day, the ailing RJD chief, who returned to his home state after more than three years having served his jail term in the fodder scam case and undergoing treatment over various ailments, said he would ensure the “visarjan” of Kumar and the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar.

In a campaign mode for the upcoming by-elections in the state, the maverick former chief minister said Tejashwi Yadav, who is not the de-facto head of the RJD and also leader of Opposition, is “doing really well” in giving a “strong fight” to the ruling camp in Bihar.

“I had missed two elections due to my illness and detention. The love of Bihar helped me recover from my illness. I will be campaigning at Kusheshwar Asthan and Tarapur on October 27,” Yadav said.

Stating that Kumar has been “eulogised” by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the JD(U)’s ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Yadav said everyone was sloganeering “desh ka PM kaisa ho, Nitish Kumar jaisa ho (Prime minister of a country should be like Nitish Kumar)”

“He was being touted as PM material…such arrogance and greed,” Lalu told ANI.

Also Read | Bihar bypolls: Nitish says for us Bihar is family, for others family everything

Yadav’s decision to campaign for the upcoming bypolls in Tarapur and Kusheshwar Asthan constituencies was announced by RJD spokesperson Mritunjay Tiwary on Monday. People familiar with the development have told Hindustan Times the RJD supremo will address one meeting each in both the constituencies.

Campaigning for the by-elections will come to an end on October 28 evening.  

Yadav returned to Bihar on Sunday amid much fanfare after three-and-a-half years. In January, he was shifted from Ranchi’s Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, where he underwent treatment for two years, to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi.