Pavan Verma is free to leave party, says Nitish

PATNA: Breaking his silence over the continued opposition to his party’s stand on the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) and NRC issue and its decision to contest the Delhi assembly polls in alliance with the BJP, Bihar chief minister and JD(U) national president Nitish Kumar said on Thursday that his colleague Pavan Varma was free to leave and join any other political outfit.

“His statements are not the party’s official stance. He is an intellectual person. I respect him although it’s an altogether different matter that he doesn’t respect us. This is his own decision, wherever he wants to go, he can go. We don’t have any objection,” Nitish said about Varma and made it clear that if any party leader has any confusion on any issue, he should have a talk within the party.

“There is no need to issue such statements. I still respect him. Wherever he wants to go, he is free do so. My best wishes are with him,” said Kumar in Patna on Thursday, on the sidelines of a function. Senior party leader Varma on Tuesday sought clarity from party president Nitish over aligning with the BJP in the Delhi elections, referring to the Bihar chief minister’s “private apprehensions” on how the saffron party is leading the country.

The former JD(U) MP, Varma, had written a letter to the chief minister seeking clarity on the party’s relationship with the BJP and also on the Citizenship Amendment Act, following its decision to contest elections in Delhi in alliance with the Centre’s ruling party.

He said the alliance in Delhi would mark the first instance in recent times when the JD(U) would have broadened its association with the BJP beyond Bihar. Varma said he was deeply perplexed by this development and looked to Nitish for ideological clarity.

In his letter, he also reminded the CM of his past concerns about the BJP. “On more than one occasion, you have expressed your grave apprehensions about the BJP-RSS combine,” Varma said.

In the two-page letter that he also put out on Twitter, Varma quoted from his private conversations with Kumar and said the latter had mentioned to him that the BJP’s policies were inimical to the country’s interests and were leading India into a “dangerous space”.