Did INDIA bloc offer PM post to Nitish Kumar? What his party and opposition alliance said

NEW DELHI: A day before the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Janata Dal (United) leader

KC Tyagi

claimed that the opposition

INDIA bloc

had offered the

PM post

to Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, to woo him to join the alliance and not support the NDA.
“All the regional partners were in favour of making Nitish Kumar the convenor but in a conspiracy, Arvind Kejriwal and Mamata Banerjee recommended Mallikarjun Kharge’s name for the post of Prime Minister when it had been decided that there will be no PM face.

A senior Congress leader raised questions on Nitish Kumar becoming the convenor, facing such humiliation was not acceptable to our rank and file. We understood their intention and JDU broke off its relations with them and joined the NDA," KC Tyagi said.
"After the elections, those leaders of INDI alliance who did not want Nitish Kumar to become the convenor offered him the post of Prime Minister. We have phone records attesting to this,” he claimed.
"I am happy that JDU leadership rejected them and Nitish Kumar endorsed the name of Narendra Modi as the new PM and all these rumours spread by them have come to an end. If any leader wants to know the name or wants to deny it, we have all the evidence," Tyagi told ANI. When asked if the the proposal came on June 4 after the Lok Sabha election results, he said "yes".

What the Opposition said
When asked about the claim, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said, "I am not aware about it."
Rubbishing the claim, RJD leader Mrityunjay Tiwari said the statement was made by the JDU just to bargain ministerial births.
"Nitish Kumar has completely surrendered in front of the BJP. He had played a key role in the formation INDIA alliance. It is right that Nitish Kumar is a PM face, but the BJP always tries to finish off its allies. Nitish Kumar had once told Lalu Prasad Yadav that the BJP wants to finish off the JD(U). He is saying this to get two-three ministerial berths," Tiwari said.
Congress leader KC Venugopal also did not accept the claim and said, "We don't have any such information."
Nitish Kumar's JDU is in alliance with the BJP in the NDA and will be part of the new government which will take oath on Sunday.
Although both allies, BJP and JDU, secured an equal number of 12 seats in Bihar, Nitish's party's role is pivotal in the formation of the BJP-led government at the Centre.