Nitish Kumar skips Sonia Gandhi's call but accepts PM Modi's lunch invite

JD (U) rejects speculation that party might revive its alliance with BJP

Janata Dal (United) leadership on Friday dismissed speculation as baseless that Bihar Chief Minister and party chief Nitish Kumar was warming up to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Kumar is scheduled to be at a lunch hosted by the PM in honour of visiting Mauritian Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth. The Bihar CM, however, had skipped the lunch that Congress President Sonia Gandhi had hosted for Opposition leaders today. She had invited Opposition leaders, including Kumar, to discuss the forthcoming presidential elections. Kumar's ally Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad attended the lunch, but Kumar was missing on account of prior engagements.

"Bihar and Mauritius have old emotional relations," Nitish Kumar said after a cabinet meeting in Patna on Friday evening. He also said that he had requested a separate appointment with Modi on Saturday to discuss desiltation of the Ganga river. 

Senior JD (U) leaders said there was no question of the party aligning with the BJP. “The reasons we severed our ties with BJP continue to remain. So, there is no question of an alliance,” a JD (U) leader said.

Kumar had been a rare supporter among Opposition ranks of PM’s demonetisation decision in November. The PM had also recently appreciated Kumar for enforcing prohibition in Bihar.

Kumar's ally RJD chief Lalu Prasad and his family members are currently faced with allegations of involvement in benami land deals. Last week, Kumar said the BJP should take legal recourse if it has documents to prove its allegations against Prasad. “This is not an issue that falls in the domain of the state government nor in the company law of Bihar,” Kumar said.