Upendra Kushwaha Says Hurt By Nitish Kumar’s ‘Neech’ Remark

JD(U) has, however, denied Kushwaha’s claim, saying that CM Nitish Kumar never used “neech” in his statement.

Union minister Upendra Kushwaha on Tuesday, 6 November, said he was “deeply hurt” by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s “neech” remark and that he had sought BJP President Amit Shah’s intervention in the matter, the Hindustan Times reported.

Kumar had purportedly made the remark on 3 November after he was asked about Kushwaha’s claim that he does not wish to continue as CM after 2020. The Janata Dal (United) Chief had said, “Baatchit ka star itna neeche mat giraeeye (don’t allow the level of debate to stoop so low).”

To this, Kushwaha, Chief of the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) that is in alliance with JD(U) and BJP in Bihar, said:

I am writing to Amit Shah ji to look into the issue and, as the biggest alliance partner of the NDA, immediately convene a meeting for a clarity on the ‘context or content’ of the Bihar CM’s remark.

Upendra Kushwaha, as told to Hindustan Times

“I am deeply perturbed. The ‘neech’ remark is propping up before me all the time. How can somebody talk like this in politics? This is totally unacceptable,” he added.

A day after Kumar’s alleged remark, Kushwaha resurfaced the old “political DNA report” comment against the CM, first brought up by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a BJP election rally at Muzaffarpur in July 2015.

JD(U) has denied that Kumar made the remark. Instead the party hit out at Kushwaha for criticising the chief minister. JD(U) state President Bashistha Narain Singh told HT:

“Kushwaha has made an irrelevant, prejudiced statement which is undignified and uncalled for. He is now into a habit of making provocative statements. JD (U) disapproves such kind of politics. Our party never makes statements that are preconceived and prejudiced. He should refrain from such acts.”

The RLSP leader has said that he would be willing to let go of the matter altogether, if the Chief Minister clarified that the comment hadn’t been directed at him, the report added.

(With inputs from Hindustan Times)