'BJP scared of Opposition unity': Nitish, Tejashwi react to Centre's 'One nation, one election' move

Patna: After the INDIA bloc concluded its third meeting in Mumbai on Friday, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav, who are the part of the grand alliance, spoke to ANI on Saturday. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar said that the opposition meeting went very well and a number of important decisions were taken during the conference.

He said that the opposition leaders together have decided to hold a "grand event" on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. i.e., October 2. Speaking on the Centre's decision to introduce 'One nation, one election', Nitish Kumar said, "The Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP)-led Central government is very scared of our unity, and this is why they have come up with this policy only to prepone the election."

On being asked whether the opposition will support 'One nation, one election', Nitish Kumar replied, saying, "If they come up with a proposal, then it will be discussed in the house openly; let us wait for that. He added, "I already had a doubt that they are afraid of opposition unity and they are going to prepone the election. Whatever happens will be discussed in the house openly," he added.

Speaking on the Opposition meeting that was held in Mumbai on Friday, Nitish Kumar said, "Everything went very well. We are united and strong, and we will move together. On the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, all the leaders of the Opposition bloc will conduct a grand event.
Attacking the Centre on the census, Nitish Kumar said, "Union government should have conducted the survey of the population, but they did not, and now they want to conduct an election. He concluded by saying that the "central government is very scared of our opposition unity."

Speaking to ANI in Patna, Tejshawi Yadav said, "The Opposition bloc meeting held in Mumbai went very well. The Centre is very scared to see all the opposition leaders on one platform. They are worried that this time they are going to lose the election. They want to put swords in the hands of the youth, and we want to give them pens. The BJP plays the politics of hatred and division, and we do the politics of love and unity," Tejasvi Yadav told ANI. "They want to separate the country; the centre is creating division," he asserted.

On being asked about "One nation, one election", Tejashwi slammed the PM Modi-led government, saying "Soon they will come up with a 'One nation, one leader' policy. "Before implementing 'One nation, one election, the Centre should first focus on 'One nation, one income'. Without doing justice to the people in terms of income, they want to conduct elections. They're simply trying to divert the nation from the main issues. All the BJP wants is to control the entire country, and they will also dissolve all the states. Then they will say, 'One nation, one leader', 'One nation, one party', or One nation, one religion'. All of these are useless issues that the BJP is creating," he added.

The development comes as the Central government on Friday constituted a committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind to find out the possibility of "One nation, one election". On Wednesday, the government called a five-day special session of Parliament between September 18 to 22, the agenda for which is still under wraps.

Meanwhile, Opposition parties on Friday held a third strategy meeting in Mumbai that was attended by leaders of 28 political parties. After the meeting, the Opposition bloc passed a resolution resolving to contest the upcoming election together only to defeat the ruling BJP. After the meeting, the Opposition leaders announced the formation of a 14-member Coordination Committee and Election Strategy Committee, a 19-member Campaign Committee, INDIA, a 12-member Working Group for social media, a 19-member Working Group for Media and an 11-member Working Group for Research Committee.