Modi tweets support for taking stand against corruption

Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent out the first signal by congratulating Nitish Kumar for taking a stand against corruption.

In a series of tweets, Modi said, “Congratulations! Mr Nitish Kumar for joining the fight against corruption... 125 crore people are welcoming and supporting his honesty”. Interestingly, Nitish thanked Modi for his tweet.

Modi also insisted: “For the bright future of the country, and especially Bihar, it is the need of the hour to rise above political differences and join the fight against corruption.”

Tactful move
Modi’s quick response was interpreted as an attempt to make it tough for Nitish to form the grand alliance again if Tejashwi Yadav offers to stay away.

The BJP parliamentary board, which met on Wednesday evening to decide on candidates to fill 10 vacancies in the Rajya Sabha, took note of Nitish’s move.

Briefing the media after the meeting, senior BJP leader J P Nadda said the party’s central leadership was not in favour of a midterm election.

This was seen as an open overture to the JD(U) that the NDA was willing to offer support to form a new coalition.

Nitish had parted ways with the NDA in 2013 over Narendra Modi’s elevation as the NDA’s poll mascot ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.  

Nadda said a three-member panel has been formed in Bihar to talk to BJP MLAs and report to the leadership for taking a call on the crisis.

Simultaneously, in Patna, too, BJP leader Sushil Modi held a press conference to announce that his party was against seeking a fresh mandate.

The former deputy chief minister has been egging Nitish to review ties with the RJD-Congress coalition after he levelled serious corruption charges against Lalu's family.

Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who is from Bihar, said, Nitish-Lalu alliance was a mismatch and this was bound to happen.