Hitting back at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for his recent 'Sangh Mukt Bharat' remark and his tirade against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Union Minister of State for Skill Development , Entrepreneurship and Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Pratap Rudy on Saturday said the nation needs to be freed from opportunist leaders like Nitish Kumar who had joined hands with his one-time opponent Rashtriya Janata Party (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, and not from a nationalist organization like the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Rudy also said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is proud to be associated with the RSS.
"Nitish Kumar has said it even before that they want 'Sangh Mukt Bharat' (RSS free India). The kind of people he allied with in Bihar like Lalu Yadav, who was earlier his opponent, shows that Nitish Kumar's opportunism. India needs to be freed from such opportunist leaders and not from a nationalist party like BJP and organization like RSS. We are proud to be associated with Sangh," he told reporters here.
Kumar had last week mounted a counter-offensive against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his 'Congress-mukt Bharat' slogan and said all the non-BJP parties will have to come together to usher in a 'Sangh-free Bharat'. Kumar later said that it was his personal opinion, but, maintained that Sangh's ideology would not benefit the nation.
He had also said that the country was heading towards a bipolar political divide where the BJP-RSS are on one side and the rest on the other.
Earlier today, speaking at the Janata Dal (United)'s National Council Meeting in Patna, Nitish criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for using disgraceful language against him during poll campaigns.
"The BJP, out of arrogance, used disgraceful language. they questioned my DNA but we never lost our patience, we didn't stoop down," he said.
