Sheikhpura (Bihar), Mar 25 (PTI): Jan Suraaj Party leader Prashant Kishor on Tuesday demanded a medical bulletin on the mental health condition of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
He alleged that Kumar was being prevented from addressing functions and press conferences in a bid to shield him from public scrutiny.
Nevertheless, the JD(U) chief keeps making news for odd behaviour, he said, while addressing a press conference in Sheikhpura district.
The former poll strategist, who had a brief stint in the JD(U) headed by Kumar, which ended with his expulsion following a spat with the party supremo, said, "Concerns over the chief minister's mental health were first raised by his close aide, the late Sushil Modi, in 2023. For the last couple of years, the people of Bihar have been observing his behaviour."
There have been attempts to shield Nitish Kumar from public scrutiny by preventing him from interacting with the press and addressing public functions. Nonetheless, he keeps making news for odd behaviour, Kishor alleged.
"Kumar has been forgetting the names of cabinet colleagues. He has also been unable to remember, while on tour, which district he was in. During recent agitations over BPSC exams, I learnt he was not aware of the happenings in the state," claimed the 47-year-old politician.
He added, tongue in cheek, "If a medical bulletin is issued, it will remove from the minds of the people any misgivings about Nitish Kumar's soundness of mind. But I am sure he will not agree to such a thing."
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Kolkata (PTI): BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, who defeated West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur and secured Nandigram for three times in a row in the recent assembly polls, said on Wednesday that he would vacate one of the two constituencies within 10 days.
Adhikari also asserted that the party's central leadership would decide which constituency he would retain.
"I will vacate one seat within 10 days. The party will decide which one I retain. I will not forget my responsibility towards the people of Bhabanipur and Nandigram," he said.
Adhikari on Monday defeated Banerjee in Bhabanipur by over 15,000 votes, puncturing what was long seen as her safest political refuge and delivering a decisive psychological blow to the TMC, amid a sweeping BJP surge across West Bengal.
Addressing party workers and supporters in Nandigram in Purba Medinipur district, the BJP leader appealed to them not to take out victory processions immediately and instead maintain peace.
"Do not take out victory rallies now. Maintain peace and discipline. Celebrate after May 9, after taking permission," he told party workers.
State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya on Wednesday announced that the oath-taking ceremony of the new government will be held on May 9 at Brigade Parade Ground.
Referring to alleged attacks on BJP workers during the TMC regime, Adhikari said he would not forget the “atrocities" faced by them and assured them of taking appropriate action against perpetrators through legal processes.
"I was part of the 2011 ‘poribartan’ (change), and now I am part of the real change. I offer my gratitude to the people of Nandigram," Adhikari said.
He was referring to the TMC's victory in 2011 when the Mamata Banerjee party dismantled the 34-year Left Front regime in the state.
Adhikari offered prayers at a Hanuman statue in Nandigram and remembered the BJP workers, who had died in political violence.
"We will work in such a way that the BJP government in Bengal stays for 100 years," he said, expressing hope that the BJP’s vote share in the state would rise from the current 46 per cent to 60 per cent in future elections.
The BJP leader also assured residents of Nandigram of improved drinking water supply and better hospital and education infrastructure.
