Mumbai, Jul 30: Union minister Ramdas Athawale on Sunday said Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who snapped ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) last year, can return to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) any time.
Talking to PTI, Athawale said Nitish Kumar was part of the NDA earlier and despite the BJP getting more seats in the assembly elections in Bihar last time, he was made the chief minister.
The minister also took a dig at the opposition's INDIA alliance, alleging that its sole agenda was to remove Prime Minister Narendra Modi from power.
Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) snapped ties with the saffron party and walked out of the NDA in August 2022. He later joined hands with Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and formed a new government. He is one of the most significant faces of the opposition parties' alliance - INDIA.
"Nitish Kumar can come back to us anytime," the Union Minister of State for Social Justice, whose Republican Party of India (Athawale) is part of the ruling NDA, said.
Athawale said, Nitish Kumar had reservations about the name of the opposition's INDIA alliance, and also there are divisions within the grouping on who will be its convener and also the prime ministerial candidate.
"I was in Patna yesterday and I was asked about the reported displeasure of Nitish Kumar who had left the Bengaluru meet of the opposition alliance early," Athawale said.
"I said if he (Nitish Kumar) is not happy, he shouldn't go to Mumbai (for the next meeting of the INDIA alliance). He had been with the NDA earlier and can come back to us anytime," he added.
Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, known by its abbreviation 'INDIA', is an opposition front announced by the leaders of 26 parties to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Athawale, however, said that 'INDIA' stood for "Introduction Negative Date Idea Alliance".
"Its agenda is 'Modi hatao' (remove Modi), while our agenda is development of the country," he said.
The minister claimed that Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar are of no use to Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal, while she is of no use to the opposition in Maharashtra.
"Similarly, Mamata Banerjee and Communists have been at loggerheads for long," he said.
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Dubai, Feb 23 (PTI): Virat Kohli said his plan was to attack the pacers and take less risk against the spinners in the high-pressure Champions Trophy clash against Pakistan here on Sunday and having steered the team home with a sparkling hundred, his 36-year-old body is happy to get a week-long break before the next game.
India's six-wicket win against arch-rivals has almost sealed a semifinal spot for the side and all but knocked the hosts out of the tournament.
Kohli got majority of his runs from running the quick singles and doubles as he collected only seven fours in his 100 not out off 111 balls.
"At 36, a week off is very good. It takes a lot out of me to put in that much effort," said the superstar referring to the last group A clash against New Zealand on March 2.
He completed his 51st ODI hundred with a four off the last ball of the match. Heading into the high-stakes game, Kohli had his fair share of struggles against the spinners.
"It feels good to bat in that manner in an important game, where a spot for semis was there to be taken, after Rohit (Sharma) fell (20 off 15 balls). My job was clear - to control the middle overs, not take risks against spinners and take on pacers.
"I was happy with the template, it's how I play in ODIs," said Kohli at the post-match presentation after scoring his fourth hundred against Pakistan.
Kohli also got to a special milestone in the run chase as he became only the second Indian and third overall to amass 14000 ODI runs after compatriot Sachin Tendulkar (18,246 runs) and Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara (14,234 runs).
When asked about his approach in the innings, Kohli said: "I have a decent understanding of my game. It's about keeping the outside noise away, take care of my energy levels and thoughts.
"It's easy for me to get pulled into expectations and frenzy around games like these (India-Pakistan). I kept telling myself I'll give my 100 per cent while fielding. It's why I take pride in it. When you put your head down and go about your work, things work out."
He also credited Rohit, Shubman Gill (46) and Shreyas Iyer (56) for taking on the pacers on a tricky pitch.
"Clarity is important, when there is pace on the ball, you have to get scoring. Shubman and Shreyas have been excellent. Everyone's got a decent knock in these conditions, that'll augur well in the coming matches," he said.