Nitish Kumar says RSS critique not needed, it is not his partner

Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar made it clear on Monday that he does not need feedback from the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh or RSS.  Mr Kumar said in Patna that he has no understanding or equation with the RSS. He also suggested that his political alliance with the BJP is limited to "a common minimum program" in Bihar, implying that he maintains his distance from the party he partners with in his home state.

The hinges of the alliance between Mr Kumar and the BJP have appeared in need of oiling for a few weeks. The chief minister said last month that the prime ministerial candidate of the BJP for the general elections in 2014 must be a leader with secular credentials - making it clear that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi was not acceptable to him. As a member of the BJP-led coalition, the NDA, Mr Kumar wields a considerable clout. The RSS defended Mr Modi, saying it did not need lessons on secularism from Mr Kumar.

Today, the chief minister said he is used to being attacked by the RSS. He said that in 2004, when he defended the need for reservation in government jobs and colleges for Dalit Muslims and Dalit Christians, the RSS had taken him on. Mr Kumar's remarks are intended to underline his own secular credentials.

Sources within the BJP and Mr Kumar's party, the Janata Dal (United) admit that their alliance appears to be unravelling at top speed. Mr Kumar has chosen, for example, to support Pranab Mukherjee for President of India, whereas the BJP has picked former speaker PA Sangma as its candidate. So the allies are on opposing teams for an election that's being seen as the semi-final ahead of the big match in 2014.