File photo
Patna:
Weeks after his break-up with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's jibes at his former partner are multiplying.
Mr Kumar, who was dumped by the BJP over the latter's choice of Narendra Modi as its campaign chief, attacked the Gujarat Chief Minister today for stating that the Congress uses "a burqa (veil) of secularism" to conceal its many drawbacks. "If women from one community wear the burqa, then why is somebody objecting to that? Even Hindu women follow this system of covering their heads. When you're in power, please learn to respect other religions and please mind your language," he said.
But Mr Kumar also reiterated a new allegation - that the BJP and Bihar leader Lalu Prasad Yadav have a tacit agreement to work against him. The Chief Minister first said this last week as both the parties first decided to oppose his government on the floor of the Bihar Assembly and then launched identical common attack on his government. The claim was bolstered by former BJP parliamentarian Ram Jethmalani, who is representing Lalu in multiple cases that accuse him of embezzling hundreds of crores when he was chief minister through an animal husbandry scam. On Sunday, Mr Jethmalani said that he will try to forge unity between Mr Modi and Lalu.
"For public consumption, Lalu has been criticising Modi, but in private they enjoy good rapport and work in tandem... this has been proved by Jethmalani's comments," said the Bihar Chief Minister.
An alleged deal is anathema for Lalu and the BJP because the RJD chief knows such signal will automatically force Muslim voters to shift loyalty towards Nitish.
For Lalu, a resurgence in popularity depends heavily on Bihar's Muslim voters. However, for BJP, a deal with Lalu means alienating a large section of the upper caste voters in Bihar, in run up to the general elections.
Bihar BJP president Mangal Pandey pointed out that as an expelled member of the party, Mr Jethmalani is hardly privy to the BJP's strategy.
Representatives of Lalu's party also denied any behind-the-scenes negotiations. Last month, after Mr Kkumar ended his 17-year partnership with the BJP, the party boycotted his trust vote and its members walked out of the Assembly to avoid being on the same side with Lalu, who voted against Mr Kumar. The Chief Minister sailed through the vote.
Mr Kumar, who was dumped by the BJP over the latter's choice of Narendra Modi as its campaign chief, attacked the Gujarat Chief Minister today for stating that the Congress uses "a burqa (veil) of secularism" to conceal its many drawbacks. "If women from one community wear the burqa, then why is somebody objecting to that? Even Hindu women follow this system of covering their heads. When you're in power, please learn to respect other religions and please mind your language," he said.
But Mr Kumar also reiterated a new allegation - that the BJP and Bihar leader Lalu Prasad Yadav have a tacit agreement to work against him. The Chief Minister first said this last week as both the parties first decided to oppose his government on the floor of the Bihar Assembly and then launched identical common attack on his government. The claim was bolstered by former BJP parliamentarian Ram Jethmalani, who is representing Lalu in multiple cases that accuse him of embezzling hundreds of crores when he was chief minister through an animal husbandry scam. On Sunday, Mr Jethmalani said that he will try to forge unity between Mr Modi and Lalu.
"For public consumption, Lalu has been criticising Modi, but in private they enjoy good rapport and work in tandem... this has been proved by Jethmalani's comments," said the Bihar Chief Minister.
An alleged deal is anathema for Lalu and the BJP because the RJD chief knows such signal will automatically force Muslim voters to shift loyalty towards Nitish.
For Lalu, a resurgence in popularity depends heavily on Bihar's Muslim voters. However, for BJP, a deal with Lalu means alienating a large section of the upper caste voters in Bihar, in run up to the general elections.
Bihar BJP president Mangal Pandey pointed out that as an expelled member of the party, Mr Jethmalani is hardly privy to the BJP's strategy.
Representatives of Lalu's party also denied any behind-the-scenes negotiations. Last month, after Mr Kkumar ended his 17-year partnership with the BJP, the party boycotted his trust vote and its members walked out of the Assembly to avoid being on the same side with Lalu, who voted against Mr Kumar. The Chief Minister sailed through the vote.
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