A BJP MLA in Bihar caused eyebrows to raise on Monday when he claimed that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, if elected as the prime minister, would "hoist the Pakistan flag" at the Red Fort. Haribhushan Thakur Bachol, who represents Bisfi assembly segment in Madhubani district, was replying to queries from journalists about JD(U) leaders expressing the wish at the party’s plenary session here on Sunday that Kumar, their de facto leader, hoists the Tricolour in 2024, after defeating Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP in Lok Sabha polls.

"First of all, it is impossible for any other politician to be a match to Narendra Modi. Even if we suppose that he (Nitish) wins, we can expect him to hoist the Pakistani flag instead of our own," remarked Bachol, who has been in news many times for incendiary utterances. The BJP MLA was slammed by Ashok Choudhary, senior JD(U) leader and state minister, who asserted that "we are for humanity not for any particular community".?

The BJP has started a new trend of branding anybody, who cares for the minorities, a Pakistani or a Bangladeshi, the minister stated. "What problem does Bachol and his ilk have with Muslims? Did Muslims not make sacrifices in the freedom struggle? Do they not serve the nation in various capacities, including in the armed forces?” asked Choudhary.

He also asserted that Nitish Kumar has all the capabilities necessary for becoming the prime minister.?"As regards the skepticism over his being able to match Modi, it is always the case when someone chooses to challenge an incumbent. "Let us not forget that when Modi was the Gujarat chief minister, people used to wonder how he, with no prior experience of national politics, could be a match to Manmohan Singh. Nitish Kumar, at least, had been a parliamentarian and a Union minister for long before becoming the Bihar CM,” Choudhary pointed out.

(With PTI inputs)