Nitish Kumar terms Shahabuddin's remarks as 'unimportant'

PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today termed as "unimportant" RJD strongman Mohammad Shahabuddin's remarks describing him as "chief minister of circumstances" and said he would go by the people's mandate and not by what someone else says.

"We have not got the mandate to give reactions. You (media persons) too are wasting your time and space on this. The whole world knows what is the mandate of the people of Bihar. Should I go by the people's mandate or pay attention to what someone is saying? We have not paid attention to such things in the past. All these things are not important," he told reporters here.

Kumar said this in response to a query by media persons on the sidelines of a programme at Bihar College of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy here.

Shahabuddin's description of Nitish Kumar as 'chief minister of circumstances' after his release from jail yesterday has created ripples in political circles.

In an embarrassment to the Chief Minister, RJD vice-president Raghuvansh Prasad Singh said, "What is wrong in it (Shahabuddin's statement)? Nitish Kumar has indeed been a Chief Minister of circumstances and not because of his own strength and numbers."

Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi seconded Shahabuddin's remarks. He also termed as a "well planned strategy" of the Nitish Kumar government to ensure the RJD strongman's release from jail.