Nitish wants no ties with Trinamool

Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today said that he was not for forging a third front with Trinamool Congress of Mamata Banerjee. “I am not for such a political initiative,” he told reporters in Patna.[caption id=“attachment_211824” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Image courtesy PIB”] [/caption] Kumar was answering questions on whether his demand for constituting the Eastern Area Council along with TMC was to forge ties with it. The proposal to constitute an Eastern Area Council comprising Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha and some other states was an ’extremely good’ one and is “an old idea of mine”, Kumar claimed. He said he had not held any talks with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on the issue recently. In reply to a question as to whether Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee would return to NDA, Kumar, also a senior JD(U) leader, said, “I don’t think so … It is just illogical.” On whether Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should retire, Kumar said, “There is no talk of age in politics … The PM looks hale and hearty but the main problem with him relates to will power.” PTI