Bihar CM Nitish Kumar 'physically and mentally unfit’: Prashant Kishor

Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor on Wednesday alleged that Bihar's law and order situation was worsening because Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had grown “physically and mentally unfit”.

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a rally in Siwan district, Kishor claimed that the state was being run by "four to five bureaucrats and as many sycophantic ministers".

"Such is the state of mind of the Chief Minister that he is unable to recall the names of his cabinet colleagues. But, he continues to enjoy power as in Bihar you need to clear medical tests for becoming a teacher or a police constable, but the CM is under no such compulsion. Under these circumstances, a soaring crime rate is hardly surprising,” said Kishor.

Incidentally, Kishor has had a long association with Kumar, whom he helped run the 2015 assembly poll campaign and got rewarded with the post of the Chief Minister's advisor, enjoying a rank equivalent to that of a cabinet minister.

In 2018, he was inducted into the JD(U), headed by Kumar, and was elevated to the post of national vice-president within weeks, only to be expelled from the party two years later following a spat with the CM.

Kishor maintained that the people of Bihar were fed up with Kumar as well as his arch rival Lalu Prasad, the RJD president, and claimed they will “vote for a change” in the upcoming assembly polls.

The Jan Suraaj Party founder, who has ruled out possibility of alliance with any party in the elections, said "improved education facilities are the foremost requirement of Bihar. Roads and sanitation can wait for some time."