Days after JDU leader Ajay Alok likened expelled JDU member Prashant Kishor with ‘coronavirus’, now he has called the political strategist ‘mentally unstable’.
Speaking to the ANI, Alok said that Kishor’s contradictory remarks for Bihar CM Nitish Kumar suggest that he is ‘mentally unstable’. Alok alleged that on one hand, Kishor equated Nitish Kumar with his father while, on the other hand, he is levelling slanderous allegations against him which are far from the truth.
JDU leader Ajay Alok on expelled JDU leader Prashant Kishor: Someone talks like this when they are mentally unstable. On one hand, he says that Nitish Kumar is like my father, on the other hand, he digs out the flaws of the same person which are not true. pic.twitter.com/ji0r59JS8S
— ANI (@ANI) February 18, 2020
Poll strategist Prashant Kishor had recently launched “Baat Bihar Ki” campaign targeting Bihar CM Nitish Kumar. Slamming Kumar, Kishor said that the ideological positioning of the JD(U) was the primary reason for his conflict with the chief minister. The campaign that will commence from February 20 will reach out to people who believe there is a need for new leadership in Bihar.
However, in a press briefing, Kishor stated that his relationship with Kumar had not entirely been political. “Nitish Ji treated me like a son. I have immense respect for him. I will not raise a question on his decision. It was his prerogative to keep me in or out of the party,” Kishor said.
The rift within the Janata Dal-United surfaced after the party, an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party, had voted in favour of the Citizenship Amendment Act in Parliament last month. The election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor, who is also the vice-president of the party had opposed the Citizenship Amendment Act claiming that act is unconstitutional. Kishor has been consistently attacking the Modi government, especially after the historic CAA was passed in the parliament.
Earlier, Alok had referred to Kishor as ‘coronavirus’ to the party. Demanding removal of Prashant Kishor from the party, Alok said that he is a corporate broker of power and is untrustworthy. Alok also hinted that Kishor may soon leave the party. “He is not trustworthy. He could not win the trust of Modi Ji and Nitish Ji. He works for AAP, talks to Rahul Gandhi, sits with Mamata didi. Who will trust him? We are happy this #coronavirus is leaving us, he can go wherever he wants to,” Alok said.
A war of words ensued between Prashant Kishor and Nitish Kumar, each attacking the other over the party’s decision to support the Citizenship Amendment Act. Things turned particularly ugly when Kishor called Kumar a liar for saying that he was inducted in the party on the recommendation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Kishor was subsequently expelled from the party citing indiscipline as the reason for his ouster.
