Janata Dal-United president Sharad Yadav on Tuesday welcomed Nobel laureate Amartya Sen's comment that he does not want Narendra Modi to be the country's prime minister and said he agreed with the renowned economist's views.
"I welcome his statement. If not for him (Modi), our alliance with BJP would not have broken," he said.
Sen had said on Monday that as an Indian citizen he does not want Modi as his PM. "He has not done enough to make minorities feel safe," Sen had said while disapproving of Modi's economic model as well.
Yadav held Gujarat Chief Minister responsible for diverting public attention from burning issues of corruption, unemployment and farmers' plight and said both big parties, ruling Congress and opposition BJP, were indulging in a slugfest over non-issues.
"Since this man from Gujarat has arrived on the national scene, this drama has begun," he said.
Yadav also distanced himself from comments reportedly made by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Education minister PK Shahi, hinting at a conspiracy behind the mid-day meal tragedy, and said, "One could reach a conclusion only after the probe is over.
"I do not know what Nitish or Shahi said," Yadav said, adding that no government could have done anything as a tragedy like this happened for the first time in the state.
He dismissed BJP's allegations that his party is poaching on its disgruntled MLAs in the state and said it was the responsibility of the saffron party to keep its house in order.
"We have a majority without their support. We do not need to break any party. They (MLAs) are unhappy with BJP and it is obvious from their statements," he said.
