This Article is From Aug 27, 2015

Aam Aadmi Shut Out of Bodhgaya Temple as Arvind Kejriwal Drops In

Nitish Kumar and Arvind Kejriwal at the Bodhgaya Temple.

Patna, New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today spent an entire day Bihar in the company of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The visit comes just days after the two leaders met in Delhi.  

A week ago, a whole lot of bonhomie and frequent swipes at Prime Minister Narendra Modi had marked the coming together on a public stage of Mr Kejriwal and Mr Kumar.

For over two hours, Bodh Gaya's Mahabodi Temple remained out of bounds for the aam aadmi as Mr Kumar gave a guided tour to the Delhi Chief Minister, who is also the leader of the Aam Aadmi Party.

The Bodh Gaya visit was not the only photo-op for the two leaders. Earlier in the day, at a seminar in Patna, there was much bonding, mostly over the criticism of a common political enemy -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

At the Patna seminar, the attacks on Modi were frequent. Bihar votes for a new government by November, and Mr Kejriwal has cast his vote firmly in favour of Mr Kumar, who goes head to head with the BJP in his state.

The Delhi chief minister had earlier made an appeal - requesting the millions of Biharis in the capital to phone relatives in Bihar and ask them to ensure a Nitish Kumar victory

At the seminar today, Mr Kejriwal said: "Rs 100 crores spent on advertising for Swachh Bharat, has even a lane or road in the country benefited from this campaign?"

Mr Kumar was also unsparing in his criticism of Modi, saying "A democracy runs on trust and not on false promises that lead to a breakdown of trust."

But the BJP was quick to hit back. Bhupendra Yadav, Bihar BJP in-charge, said at a Delhi press conference, "Pravachan (advice) from Lalu, gathbandhan (coalition) with Mulayam, prabandhan (organisation) from Kejriwal, margdarshan from Sonia... Where is the development for Bihar in this?"
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