Nitish Kumar should know PM post for 2024 not vacant: Giriraj Singh

Union Minister Giriraj Singh on Thursday took a swipe at Nitish Kumar a day after the Bihar chief minister met with Congress leaders Mallikarkun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi as also Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.

The meeting in which Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav also participated in was held in the national capital as part of efforts to form a united opposition ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Speaking to ANI, Singh said, "Everyone wants to become the Prime Minister. Nitish Kumar is strong in that. That's why he is pleasing Mallikarjun Kharge and got an appointment with Rahul Gandhi. Nitish Kumar should know that the PM post for 2024 is not vacant. He should know that he is headed for political decline."

According to sources, a meeting of opposition parties is planned to be held by the end of April and Nitish Kumar as well as Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge will reach out to other opposition parties.

Meanwhile, after yesterday's meeting, Kharge talked of fighting the polls unitedly. Rahul Gandhi also talked of "standing together and fighting together". Kejriwal said it is essential for all opposition parties to unite and oust the BJP-led government in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

The meetings are being seen as an attempt by Congress and other opposition parties to take forward their "unity" displayed during the budget session of Parliament session that concluded on April 6. The session saw continuous disruptions over the opposition's demand for a JPC probe into the Hindenburg-Adani row. The opposition parties also slammed the government over the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi from Lok Sabha following his conviction by a Surat court in a criminal defamation case.

BJP leader and Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur took a swipe at the opposition parties over their efforts to forge unity to take on the BJP in the 2024 elections and said these parties were coming together for 'Maha thug Bandhan'.

Rahul Gandhi described the meeting with Janata Dal-United and RJD leaders as a "historic step" towards opposition unity and for an ideological fight.

The Congress leader, who posted a picture of Kharge and him with JD-U and RJD leaders, said they are "standing together, will fight together - for India."

"In this battle of ideology, a historic step has been taken today towards opposition unity. (We are) standing together, will fight together - for India!" Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet.