Bihar CM and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar decided to not attend a lunch organised by Congress president Sonia Gandhi for opposition leaders and arrived in Delhi, only a day later, to be part of a lunch hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for Mauritian Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth.
Kumar skipped the Congress president’s lunch, citing prior engagements.
Kumar said Bihar and Mauritius have longstanding relations and an emotional bond as 52 percent of the population there has its origins in Bihar, as NDTV reported.
I will attend (the) lunch organised in honour of Mauritius Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth on Saturday, as I have been invited. After that, I’ll meet and speak to PM Modi regarding the issue of national policy on de-silting of Ganga.Nitish Kumar, Bihar Chief Minister
Commenting on the lunch organised the day before Kumar said he had already met Sonia Gandhi a few days ago and had sent Sharad Yadav to represent him.
I had already met Sonia ji, it was announced 4-5 days back that Sharadji would represent JD(U). Everything else is misinterpretation.Nitish Kumar, Bihar Chief Minister
Kumar has been a staunch critic of Modi for over two decades and ended his alliance with the BJP after Modi was announced as the PM candidate for 2014 General Elections.
However, in recent times, Kumar has been more than forgiving of the PM and supported him during demonetisation, when other leaders opposed it. Kumar has also received praise from Modi at times, for instance when he announced prohibition in Bihar.
(With inputs from ANI)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)