New Delhi, Sept 21: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has lashed out at supporters of former ally BJP for, what he said, "trying to muzzle dissent" through the social media.
Appearing in Rajat Sharma's Aap Ki Adalat show on India TV, Nitish Kumar did not name Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi but his barbs at the BJP's PM candidate were clear and evident.
"They (Modi supporters) abused through social media a top journalist of Bihar who had criticized Modi's views. They did not even spare Nobel Prize winning economist Amartya Sen and ran a campaign against him on social media. This is a dangerous trend. It's just like the Nazis and fascists trying to muzzle dissent in a democracy", said Nitish Kumar.
Without naming Modi, the Bihar chief minister said: "You can mislead people for some time, but not for ever. People may think that the saviour ('taaranhar') has come. ..An individual is not the main thing. The main thing is what is his thinking, his policies. These were the fundamental issues that we raised."
"This nation can be run only through inclusive politics. India is a big country, it's multi-lingual, multi-religious, there are diversities. Unity in diversity is the main strength of our country.. We will welcome one who understands and appreciates this diversity. Only then can there be inclusive development", said Nitish Kumar.
Asked by Rajat Sharma whether he could be the obstacle in the formation of the next government at the Centre, Nitish Kumar replied: "How can you say that? To claim such a thing will be arrogance. It's the people who will decide. Many people live in a world of publicity, there's less of substance and they try to create an artificial wave". ('hawaa baandh rahe hain).
The Bihar chief minister revealed how he was on the verge of going to the Governor and resigning, when the BJP national executive in 2010 decided to invite Modi. "It was hardly a ten minute drive to Raj Bhavan and I was ready to tender my resignation at that time", the chief minister said.
