Election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor on Tuesday questioned the Nitish Kumar government’s development model, even as he sneered at the Bihar Chief Minister for making "ideological compromises" to stay in alliance with the BJP.
Mr. Kishor, who has been vocal about his opposition to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), said Mr. Kumar should spell out whether he was with the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi or those who supported Nathuram Godse.
Also read: JD(U) expels Prashant Kishor, Pawan Varma
“Nitish ji has always said that he cannot leave the ideals of Gandhi, JP and Lohiya... At the same time, how can he be with the people who support the ideology of Godse. Both cannot go together. If you want to stay with the BJP, I don’t have any problem with it but you cannot be on both sides,” Mr. Kishor said.
Watch | Prashant Kishor speaks on CAA, NRC
“There has been a lot of discussion between me and Nitish ji on this. He has his thought process and I have mine. There have been differences between me and him that the ideologies of Godse and Gandhi cannot stand together. As the leader of the party you have to say which side you are on,” he said.
In a direct assault on Mr. Kumar’s model of governance, Mr. Kishor said Bihar was the poorest State in 2005 and continued to be so. “There has been development in Bihar in the last 15 years, but the pace has not been as it should have,” he added.