“The only identity will be that of a Bihari and all other lesser identities will get subsumed by it. The only other identity will be that of an Indian… a good Bihari will be a good Hindustani,” he declared when asked whether caste equations would continue to play a role in the state’s future politics.
The CM acknowledged that caste had played a lesser role in the last assembly polls, which returned him to power for a second successive term and head the JD(U)-BJP coalition government.
“The new generation is guided by new aspirations. There is no guarantee that caste will be completely done away with. But, we will work in such a way that it will weaken caste equations and a better identity of being Bihari will replace it,” the CM promised.
He thanked women voters, who had turned out in large numbers in the assembly polls and helped the coalition’s cause, on the occasion.
Kumar brushed aside a pointed question on whether he could be a Prime Ministerial candidate in the future. “How can I answer a question like this?” he asked in jest.
But, he warned that growing corruption was paving the way for a shift towards anti-Congress forces in national politics.
Attributing the victory in the last assembly polls to the aspiration of people of Bihar for development, Kumar said, “a situation is gradually unfolding… People are rising against corruption,” when asked about the present-day scenario in national politics.
“As far as the issue of leadership is concerned, our political system creates the leader. But it will all depend on situations,” Kumar said, during an interaction with media at the Press Club of India on Wednesday.
Replying to a query on whether there is a resurgence of anti-Congress forces as was witnessed in the past and who could be a leader for such a movement he said, “change is always brought in by people and people also choose their leader… leaders emerge out of the movement.”
He described his earlier disapproval of BJP’s Tiranga Yatra to Kashmir as “a reaction coming from the heart and due to a thinking for long… it was not made keeping in mind who felt what with it”.
He chose the occasion to make it clear that, “we have an alliance with BJP but we have different views on many issues. But, there is no discomfort in ties with BJP.”