Nitish says nobody can beat Modi in 2019, blames RJD for Grand Alliance split

NEW DELHI:  Virtually giving up his national ambitions, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday said no one can take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and hailed the way he takes decisions which he felt would take the country forward. "I don't think anyone is suitable for that. There is nobody who has the capacity to take on Modi," Nitish Kumar said in reply to a question about the next general elections in which he has been speculated as a possible Prime Ministerial candidate. Nitish said he had tried his best to save the Grand Alliance but was forced to quit after RJD failed to offer any clarification on corruption allegations on Tejashwi Yadav. "JDU had asked Tejashwi Yadav to come clean on allegations against him and to offer a public clarification but he and his party refused to do so. Then how could I remain silent as I talked about zero tolerance on corruption," Nitish Kumar said in a press conference. "I tried my best to save the coalition and tolerated everything but was left with no options. Did we join the Grand Alliance to remain silent over corruption charges?" he said. The JDU chief said, "I had asked to explain the corruption allegations and had they done that, the situation could have been different. The proposal came from BJP after I resigned and the Prime Minister also tweeted about it. We then formed the government with the consensus of our MLAs." He said the RJD had made objectionable statements against the alliance but none from JD(U) said anything against Lalu Yadav. "I was even called 'zeher' (poison) but we tolerated that," he said. On secularism, Kumar said that he did not need any certificate from anybody on the issue. "What does secularism mean? Does secularism mean making property worth thousands of crores?" he asked. On the issue of vice-presidential election, Kumar said that the JD(U) will support the candidature of Gopal Krishna Gandhi. "We have already given our word to him." Attacking former ally Lalu Yadav, Nitish said RJD chief is a leader of a particular caste. "Laluji is a leader is of a particular case as he believes in 'caste base' while I believe in 'mass base'," he said. In a surprise move last week, Nitish Kumar left the "grand alliance" with Lalu Yadav's RJD and the Congress. (With inputs from IANS)