Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday denied reports of a rift between the Congress and his Janata Dal(United). “There is no threat to the mahagathbandhan [grand alliance],” he said at a press conference.

He also denied looking to run for the prime minister’s post in 2019. “I am not the prime minister’s face for the Opposition in 2019, neither am I eligible.”

Reports of a rift between the allies in the state emerged on Sunday after the Bihar chief minister appeared to have blamed the Congress for denting the Opposition’s unity. However, Kumar clarified on Monday, saying, “What I said during party meeting yesterday was in a particular context. Do not interpret it differently.”

Advertisement

The JD(U) leader, however, continued his criticism of the Congress and touted the party as the weakest link in the Opposition, reported NDTV. He urged India’s grand old party to come up with an alternative agenda against the Narendra Modi government.

“Being the biggest party, the Congress should set the agenda. The Opposition needs an alternate narrative as just a reactive narrative will not work,” Kumar said.

The JD(U)’s allies have been upset with Kumar, especially after he said he backed the National Democratic Alliance’s presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind. While Lalu Yadav criticised the Bihar chief minister for “a historic blunder” on June 22, his son and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav advised the JD(U) chief against “political opportunism” on Sunday.

Advertisement

Regarding not attending the Goods and Service Tax launch on June 30, Kumar said he had not been invited. “I was not even aware of it. Now you tell me, how was I supposed to go when I did not get an invite and was not aware of it,” he claimed.

However, Kumar was all praise for the new tax regime. “It is simple and makes the entire system and process a lot simpler...So yes, we are supportive of the GST. It is a good thing.”