PK rules out thaw with Bihar CM, says meeting won't turn 'class 7-fail into PhD holder'

NEW DELHI: Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor on Friday refuted speculation about a thaw in relations between him and Bihar chief minister Samrat Choudhary, a day after the two met at the funeral ceremony of late BJP leader RK Sinha.Kishor said that both the leaders met as a matter of social and political courtesy and no one should harbour the misconception that his remarks about Choudhary would change following the meeting."We met as a matter of social and political courtesy. I had gone to attend someone's shradh ceremony, where he was also present. Bihar's culture teaches us to maintain social courtesy when we meet someone. Meeting Samrat Choudhary will not turn him from a seventh-grade fail into a PhD holder," Kishor said. "If I have called him a criminal earlier, I will not start calling him a sage tomorrow. Do not harbour such misconceptions. The democratic fight is separate. I have worked with and opposed Nitish Kumar, but I have no personal fight with him or Lalu Prasad, or anyone else. Our fight is for the betterment of Bihar, not against any individual, caste, community or political party," he added.PK has been a persistent critic of Choudhary, repeatedly questioning his educational qualifications and alleged criminal antecedents.Since the run-up to the Bihar assembly polls held last year, Kishor has repeatedly referred to the chief minister as a "Class 7-fail" and questioned how someone with such qualifications could occupy the state's top job. Rohitashwa Ranjan is a digital journalist with The Times of India, where he decodes Indian politics as a carefully staged production with scripts, subtext and everything behind. His stories track elections, party dynamics and the things that often are buried beneath the headlines. When not parsing vote shares or alliances, he is usually reading between the lines, where the real story tends to reside.