Patna: Amid simmering discontent among the opposition parties over Nitish Kumar supporting the demonetisation drive, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday praised him for imposing a strict Prohibition Act in Bihar.
The Prime Minister, who was in Patna on Thursday to attend the concluding ceremony of the 350th birth anniversary of Guru Govind Singh, said that “efforts of Nitish Kumar will become an inspiration for other states and his move to bring social change will also save the future generation”.
The statement which was immediately welcomed by the JD(U) may send a wrong signal to the opposition parties and the grand secular alliance in Bihar.
Observers believe that the statement is an indication about “growing closeness between Nitish Kumar and Narendra Modi”.
This was the first occasion when both the leaders had come together after Bihar Assembly elections where an alliance between Nitish Kumar, Lalu Yadav, and the Congress overpowered the BJP. The JD(U) had walked out of the NDA over naming of Narendra Modi as the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate before 2014 elections.
The statement has also come at a time when Bihar was planning to hold a review meeting with a few eminent economists to discuss “pros and cons of demonetisation in the long run” before taking decisions to “support or oppose the move”.
Nitish was the first non-BJP Chief Minister to support demonetisation to combat black money. The move had irked several opposition leaders. His ally, RJD chief Lalu Yadav later had launched a massive protest.
