Don't politicise my meeting with Nitish, says BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha

Asserting that his meeting with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was nothing more than a 'friendly' visit, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Shatrughan Sinha on, 9 November, said that there was nothing objectionable in the meeting as they were 'good, old' friends and even Prime Minister Narendra Modi had congratulated Nitish.

"It's just a friendly visit, nothing political and no one should try to measure personal relations as political ties. Even Prime Minister Modi and Sushil Modi wished him. Don't take my friendship with Nitish in other way and I must insist that there is no agenda to my meeting," Sinha told the media here.

Praising Nitish, the actor turned politician said that his win indicated the triumph of democracy and the beginning of a bright and new government in Bihar.

"A tested and successful Chief Minister has been elected by the people of Bihar and I am going to congratulate him as a good friend. Nitish has called me the pride of Bihar and I thank him for that. I might even visit Lalu as we are good family friends and we keep going to each other's houses from time to time," he said.

Talking about the BJP's thumping loss in Bihar, Sinha refused to blame anyone in particular, however, he said that the losing party needed to introspect into their loss and responsibility had to taken.

"It won't be right to hold anyone responsible right now since the result is already out. But the Prime Minister should not have campaigned so much and we should have been allowed to help him in sharing his burden. I was not involved in the campaigning but those who were, need to introspect," Sinha added.

Following the debacle in the Bihar assembly polls, the Parliamentary Board of the BJP, the party's highest decision-making body, will be meeting on 9 November to introspect into the election result.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also attend the meeting to assess the party's defeat and ascertain the reasons.

-ANI