Lucknow | Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday said his party had wanted Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to become the prime minister, but he is now set to become a Rajya Sabha member.
Addressing a press conference at the party office here, Yadav said that when the SP had formed an alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party earlier, the party had wanted BSP chief Mayawati to become the prime minister.
"When the INDIA alliance was formed, we all wanted Nitish Kumar to become the Prime Minister. But when the Bihar election took place, we said he would retire as the chief minister and not as the prime minister. The Bharatiya Janata Party has gone a step further, and now he will retire as a Rajya Sabha member," Yadav said.
He alleged that the move amounted to an insult to people belonging to the PDA (Pichhde, Dalit and Alpsankhyak) community.
"You tell me which post is bigger -- Rajya Sabha member or chief minister?" Yadav asked reporters.
PDA refers to "Pichhda, Dalit and Alpsankhyak" (backward classes, Dalits and minorities), a social coalition advocated by the SP. Nitish Kumar belongs to the Other Backward Classes.
Earlier on Thursday, reacting to reports that Kumar would be sent to the Rajya Sabha, Yadav had written on X that it was the "biggest abduction in the history of Bihar".
"It may appear to be a political abduction, but in reality, it is an economic abduction of Bihar. The BJP has demanded the entire state as ransom. The next number'¦ the wise will understand," he had said.
On being asked about the US-Iran dispute, Yadav said it was a matter of concern if foreign policy appeared to be influenced by external forces.
"For the first time, we are seeing that our foreign policy is being decided by people outside the country. This is a serious issue for the nation. India's foreign policy should be decided by the Government of India and its people," he said.
On a query about Indian citizens stranded in Gulf countries, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said the government should bring back all those who want to return to India.
Earlier, several people joined the Samajwadi Party before the press conference.
