JD-U not neglected in Modi ministry rejig: Nitish Kumar

Janata Dal-United (JD-U) President and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday refuted claims that his party was neglected in the rejid of the union council of ministers headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Kumar blamed the media for running speculative news that the JD-U would join the union council of ministers that proved wrong.

"JD-U has not been neglected in reshuffle and expansion of the union council of ministers," Kumar told media persons here.

A day after the the union council of ministers rejig, in which no member from the JD-U was inducted, Kumar said due to its speculations about his party joining the central council of ministers, the media had given the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad an issue to target them.

Taunting at non-induction of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ally JD-U's MPs in the new-look Narendra Modi ministry, Lalu Prasad said: "Modi ne Nitish Kumar ko thenga dhika diya (cocked a snook at Nitish Kumar)."

Kumar has advised the media to first check with him before running any news. "Media should not speculate or run a news based on speculation."

Kumar also took a dig at the media, saying Lalu Prasad "is darling of media", as he would get more space than any other leader.

Last Saturday, Kumar had said that the JD-U was yet to get any invitation to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA government. "We have learnt about the JD-U's entry into the union council of ministers through the media. We have not received any proposal so far," he had said.

The JD-U has only two Lok Sabha members from Bihar. In 2013, it had broken its 17-year-old alliance with the BJP and contested the 2014 Lok Sabha polls against the BJP and was routed due to the Modi wave then.

The JD-U faction led by Kumar on August 19 joined the NDA at the party's national executive meeting here.

--IANS

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