BJP criticises Nitish Kumar’s ‘Ekta Yatra’ comment
By IANSTuesday, January 25, 2011
RANCHI - The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tuesday criticised its ally Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for speaking out against the party’s ‘Ekta Yatra’ that aims at hoisting the national flag in Srinagar’s Lal Chowk on Republic Day Wednesday.
“Nitish Kumar should not interfere in our party affairs. Nitish’s party, the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) has so many problems… he should look into the affairs of his own party,” Harendra Pratap, BJP in charge in Jharkhand, told reporters here.
“Had Nitish sought the BJP’s opinion before inducting dreaded criminal Taslimuddin into his party? Had Nitish Kumar consulted BJP before awarding ticket to criminals from his own party?” Pratap asked.
Nitish Kumar, who is running a government in alliance with the BJP in Bihar, had Monday expressed open disapproval of the BJP’s march and said: “I am against it. There is no justification for it.”
“Given the kind of tension that is prevailing in the Valley, this yatra has no meaning and I don’t support it.”
On Tuesday, hundreds of BJP workers crossed into Jammu and Kashmir from neighbouring Punjab after removing barricades.
The Jammu and Kashmir government has not given permission for the Ekta Yatra, or the national unity march, because it believes that the march may reignite tension in the state where calm has prevailed after months of unrest and deadly street protests last summer.
