 "Ram Vilas Paswan")
Claiming that all was not well between Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his ally Lalu Prasad Yadav, Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Tuesday said the coalition government in Bihar will not run for long.
Paswan, who thanked Kumar for welcoming the Centre's demonetisation, added that the government in Bihar was "under pressure".
"Any party, be it National Democratic Alliance (NDA) or United Progressive Alliance (UPA), if someone joins, it strengthens the party. Whatever Nitish Kumar wants, it is his prerogative. To take him or not, it is up to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
"We are allies. I had said Nitish Kumar has welcomed the revolutionary step and I had thanked him. I had also said that he (Kumar) is under pressure in Bihar. And whoever, Lalu Yadav has gone with, has not been spared. That is why, this government (Bihar) will not run for long," Paswan said.
Paswan had on Monday said he will welcome Kumar into the NDA and claimed that the JD(U) chief was apprehensive that his ally Lalu Prasad of the RJD would weaken his party.
The Union minister had also lauded Kumar for his support to the Centre's demonetisation step, saying he had taken a "bold decision".
Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party is part of the ruling NDA coalition at the Centre.
Paswan had claimed that Kumar, whose party Janata Dal United (JDU) was a former BJP ally and now a bitter rival, was working "under the pressure of Prasad" who had a "history of weakening his allies".
Earlier, BJP chief Amit Shah had also praised Kumar, setting tongues wagging in the political circles.
