BJP rattled by the unity of opposition: Nitish Kumar

Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday said that the special parliament session being convened by the Centre has confirmed his doubts about early Lok Sabha elections.

“The special session of the parliament could be an indication that they thinking about early elections. I had predicted this earlier but we will discuss the issue after seeing the proposal”, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said in Patna.

He gave the statement a day after he returned from Mumbai where the opposition bloc INDIA held their third meeting.

“This used to happen earlier also (one nation one election). The government has time for other things but there has been no census which as per norms should be done every ten years. We have already discussed all these issues during our meeting”, Nitish Kumar said.

On being asked about his reaction to the “One Nation One Election issue”, Nitish Kumar said, “We will discuss the issue after seeing their proposal. I have been saying that the polls could be held before the specified time”.

While interacting with the reporters, Nitish Kumar said that the special session of the parliament was being convened because “the BJP-led NDA is rattled by the unity of the opposition parties. They are worried and feeling threatened by the INDIA alliance”.

The announcement of a special session of parliament from September 18 -22 has stoked speculations of early Lok Sabha polls along with assembly elections in several states due later this year.

Mr. Kumar during his interaction with journalists in Patna also hinted that like-minded opposition parties may raise the issue of caste-census during the special parliament session.

While speaking about the Opposition’s meeting in Mumbai, Nitish Kumar said that “it was held in a positive environment and seat sharing arrangements and other issues will be resolved internally at the earliest”.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said that the opposition coalition will be holding country-wide events on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti on October 2. Without revealing details about the proposed event, Mr. Kumar said that a decision regarding the issue was taken during the Mumbai meeting on September 1.