JD(U)-RLSP row: Kushwaha asks BJP president Amit Shah to solve the crisis

Union minister and Rashtriya Lok Samata Party chief, Upendra Kushwaha, on Tuesday, November 6, said that he was “deeply hurt” by the Bihar CM Nitish Kumar’s “neech” remark and sought BJP President Amit Shah’s intervention to sort the tiff between JD(U) and RLSP.

The Janata Dal (United) Chief, Nitish Kumar, said on November 3, “Baatchit ka star itna neeche mat giraeeye (don’t allow the level of debate to stoop so low),” in response to Kushwaha’s claim that he did not want to continue beyond 2020.

Kushwaha claimed that Nitish Kumar had reached a "saturation point in power and he wants to step down" on .

Kushwaha said that he would not relent unless the ambiguity surrounding the issue was cleared. The BJP, the RLSP and the JD(U) are partners in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

“I am writing to Amit Shah ji to look into the issue and, as the biggest alliance partner of the NDA, immediately convene a meeting for a clarity on the ‘context or content’ of the Bihar CM’s remark,”said Upendra Kushwaha in a report by the Hindustan Times.

“I am deeply perturbed. The ‘neech’ remark is propping up before me all the time. How can somebody talk like this in politics? This is totally unacceptable,” he added.

The RLSP leader has said that he would be willing to let go of the matter altogether, if the Chief Minister clarified that the comment hadn’t been directed at him, the report added.

The ties between the two NDA allies haven’t been too kindly of late. Kushwaha targeted the Nitish Kumar government on it’s education and law and order situation in Bihar.

Kushwaha said, “We want the exercise should be done taking into account the growth in our base. As for the issue of sharing loss (for accommodating the new ally), it does not gel with the selective denial in the distribution of rewards (in terms of ministerial berth in Bihar).”

Whether things would change once the party gets accommodated in the proposed cabinet expansion by the chief minister is yet to be seen. The RLSP chief said he was not interested in getting representation for the party now. “Had it been then (July 2017) it would have been different. Now, we are absolutely not interested in settling with leftovers,” Kushwaha also said.

Kushwaha ruled out the any inclination that the NDA was moving towards disintergation because of the ongoing row. “I am not going anywhere. Unlike some forces in BJP and JD(U), who are trying to foil the Prime Minister’s chances for another term, I am doing whatever possible to have him re-elected in country’s interest,” he had said to Hindustan Times.