Anwarul Hoda / PATNA
The Grand Alliance led by Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar today announced the list of candidates of its allies JD(U), RJD and Congress for Bihar assembly Elections. Releasing the names of candidates of 242 candidates in Patna Mr. Kumar said the name of remaining one candidate will be announced latter on.
Under seat sharing formula of grand alliance RJD and JD(U) are contesting on 101 seats each and congress is fighting on 41 seats. The Chief Minister claimed that grand alliance is united whereas infighting among allies of NDA is continuing over seats. Nitish Kumar accused that the BJP is trying to end the provision of reservation for socially and economically backward classes of the society.
“Everybody, even Laluji agreed that I should announce the list of the candidates,” the Bihar chief minister said.
“There are no complaints within the alliance. We want to make it clear that development is our biggest slogan for the polls,” Nitish Kumar said.
When asked about Bihar being 21st on the “ease of doing business” list for states, Nitish Kumar said that “it’s a deliberate attempt to show Bihar in poor light”.
Hitting out at BJP and RSS, he accused them of being against reservations and said the RSS, which was the ideological mentor of BJP, was seeking to install an “extra-constitutional” body to review reservations.
“It is clear that he (Mohan Bhagwat) feels the current policy of reservation is not right and wants some other system,” Kumar said, while reading out excerpts of the RSS chief’s interview to RSS mouthpiece ‘Organiser’ and ‘Panchjanya’.
“Any amendment in Constitution can be done in Parliament. They want somebody other than the Constitution, an extra-constitutional authority, which should look into who should get reservation and how long.
“Not in the Constitution or in Parliament but in the hands of the elite committee. It is a very dangerous view. It cannot be accepted,” he said.
Questioning BJP’s stand on reservation, he said whatever the ruling party may say it cannot go against the views of the RSS.
“The BJP has a government at the Centre, which has repeatedly claimed that they are proud to be Swayamsevaks.
“RSS view is final. Whatever BJP might say, it has no meaning. Like anything is decided by the Constitutional bench of the Supreme Court, it is final and there is nothing after that. The same way in RSS, if RSS chief says something then BJP has no say.
“The BJP is a political outfit of RSS and Swayamsevaks and pracharaks are part of this government. Whatever Bhagwat has said is final and there is no other thought,” he said, charging the BJP with being against reservations.
The Bihar chief minister said development will be the main poll plank of the alliance and took a dig at the NDA coalition where differences among alliance partners were out in the open.
On RSS Chief Mohan Bhagvat’s recent remarks on reservation, the Bihar Chief Minister said the RSS is like the Supreme Court for the BJP.
