Union Minister Giriraj Singh spoke exclusively to The Daily Guardian about the Bihar election result and the new cabinet in the state. Excerpts:
Q: How do you see the Nitish Kumar government being back in power in Bihar?
A: I congratulate Nitish Kumar for this victory and hope he delivers the way he has for these many years. I am sending my best wishes to him.
Q: This time, the BJP is the bigger player in Bihar and the Nitish Kumar-Sushil Modi duo has been broken up. How do you see that?
A: It’s not a transition of power. It’s just a political movement enacted by parties. Sushil Modi has been state chief and Dy CM and has had many roles. He’s a leader, and whatever new role the party has for him, he should accept that as his position. On the other hand, Nitish Kumar is an NDA leader and not a JD(U) leader alone. Whatever there is, it will be of the NDA, and not just of any one party. Nitish Kumar had taken over since 2005 to clean out the Gunda Raj in Bihar. He has made only one mistake—that of going with the RJD—and you can now see what has happened to that party. When he found that they were not the ideal partners for his development model, he shook hands with us. Nitish Kumar’s rival is Nitish Kumar himself.
Q: Rumours say that Sushil Modi has been removed because he was close to Nitish Kumar.
A: If he was close to Nitish Kumar, it is a good thing. The new Dy CMs will now become close to him. All of this is good.
Q: RJD leader Shivanand Tiwari has said that Rahul Gandhi was going for picnics during the election.
What do you have to say?
A: I have tweeted about this. I find this very funny. Even Barack Obama has revealed the IQ level of Rahul Gandhi. We’ve always called him a political tourist. Now that the RJD has lost in Bihar, they are realising these things about Rahul Gandhi. Even people like Kapil Sibal and Ghulam Nabi Azad have talked about this and incurred the wrath of the Gandhi family. Nepotism has become a cancer for society and it needs to be removed.
Q: Tejashwi Yadav has said he will not be a part of the swearing-in ceremony. What do you have to say?
A: I think it is RJD’s childish behaviour. If they believe in democracy, they should believe in the result. And it isn’t like if they don’t come, Nitish Kumar won’t be CM. This is just folly and they can’t digest their loss.