The other Modi makes his move

The JD(U)-BJP rift appeared to widen in Bihar as Chief Minister Nitish Kumar received an unusual snub from deputy chief...

The JD(U)-BJP rift appeared to widen in Bihar as Chief Minister Nitish Kumar received an unusual snub from deputy chief minister and senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi,who cancelled his scheduled Vishwas Yatra trip with the CM to Paliganj near the state capital on Sunday. Nitish hit back promptly by canceling the evening programme at Patna City,a BJP stronghold.

Modis gesture is significant given that he has often been criticised by a section of his own party for allegedly failing to assert himself and uphold the BJPs interests vis a vis Nitish and the JD(U) in the poll-bound state. Apart from Modi,Health Minister and BJP leader NK Yadav,who represents the Patna City constituency,also stayed away from the Vishwas Yatra,a day after Nitish returned Rs five crore of flood relief money to the Narendra Modi government. The BJP central leadership had taken the issue of Nitishs returning the flood relief money to Gujarat very,very seriously,said Yadav.

Nitish has maintained a tactical silence over the tiff with the BJP in the aftermath of his June 12 outburst when he called off the dinner for BJP leaders gathered in Patna for its national executive because of the release of advertisements in local dailies featuring him and Narendra Modi. He has let JD(U) national president Sharad Yadav do the talking in Delhi and party spokesperson Shivanand Tiwari in Patna.

After the Sunday fracas,Tiwari said: As far as I know,Nitish has not got any call from top BJP leaders. His not speaking further on the matter means that the CM wants the BJP to try to sort out differences with the JD(U) from its own end.

But t he state BJP unit is now coming out in the open against Kumar. Speaking to The Indian Express from New Delhi,Bihar BJP president CP Thakur said: None of the BJP ministers was consulted before the unfortunate decision of returning the money Gujarat gave for relief in the Kosi disaster. After all,we are a 40% partner in the government.

Thakur said there was no question of the party scaling down its stand on Narendra Modi in Bihar. We are trying our best to save alliance. But we cannot compromise on our self-esteem. Nobody should force us to the wall,he said.

Asked if the BJP was ready to go to Bihar polls alone and engage in a quadrilateral contest that may invite a Jharkhand-like situation,the BJP state president said: If differences with the JD(U) are not sorted out,we are left with no option. Our cadres are ready for such a situation. In Delhi,

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BJP national spokesperson Syed Shahnawaz Hussain spoke to JD(U) national president Sharad Yadav. Later Hussain said the top party brass will discuss the developments in Bihar tomorrow. Our party president and other senior leaders are not in the capital. They will be here tomorrow and we will discuss the issue, he said.

But Sharad Yadav insisted that his partys alliance with the BJP will continue. Our alliance with the NDA is old and our intention is that it should continue. The incidents of June 12 were unfortunate but are now behind us. After June 12,we fought the Rajya Sabha polls together, said Yadav.

Meanwhile,having refused to share the dais with the chief minister,Sushil Modi refused to elaborate on the gesture. A close Modi aide said the deputy CM would not like to add anything at this crucial juncture in the JD(U)-BJP relationship.

With PTI inputs

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Sushil Kumar Modi