Patna:
The Bihar BJP's Sushil Kumar Modi, known to often demonstrate his staunch loyalty to Narendra Modi in many tweets and public utterances, has been caught on camera issuing instructions that will leave his party red-faced in election season.
The former deputy chief minister, while visiting victims of last month's Patna serial blasts in neighbouring Hajipur on Friday, was recorded reprimanding his public relations officer for not ensuring that print media reporters were present to cover his visit. He expressed the worry that television coverage of his events was transient.
On camera he tells the man, "People get happy with TV viewership, but newspapers are more important. Once published in a newspaper, a story can be read even until late night. Your channel will show it once and take it off. Sushil Modi will disappear and it will be Narendra Modi."
Narendra Modi is the BJP's prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 general elections. The Bihar unit of the BJP was the first to request the party leadership, through a resolution, to name Narendra Modi presumptive PM.
The BJP is yet to react to Sushil Modi's gaffe, but party sources admit the video footage will cause more than a little embarrassment, especially since Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat is touring Bihar right now. The RSS is the BJP's ideological mentor.
Former ally and now bitter rival, the Janata Dal (United) or JD(U) is delighted. Spokesperson Sanjay Singh scoffed at Sushil Modi saying, "He can do anything just to be in the news."
Sushil Modi was Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's deputy till June this year, when the latter ended his party's 17-year-old alliance with the BJP to protest against the elevation of Narendra Modi.
The former deputy chief minister, while visiting victims of last month's Patna serial blasts in neighbouring Hajipur on Friday, was recorded reprimanding his public relations officer for not ensuring that print media reporters were present to cover his visit. He expressed the worry that television coverage of his events was transient.
On camera he tells the man, "People get happy with TV viewership, but newspapers are more important. Once published in a newspaper, a story can be read even until late night. Your channel will show it once and take it off. Sushil Modi will disappear and it will be Narendra Modi."
Narendra Modi is the BJP's prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 general elections. The Bihar unit of the BJP was the first to request the party leadership, through a resolution, to name Narendra Modi presumptive PM.
The BJP is yet to react to Sushil Modi's gaffe, but party sources admit the video footage will cause more than a little embarrassment, especially since Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat is touring Bihar right now. The RSS is the BJP's ideological mentor.
Former ally and now bitter rival, the Janata Dal (United) or JD(U) is delighted. Spokesperson Sanjay Singh scoffed at Sushil Modi saying, "He can do anything just to be in the news."
Sushil Modi was Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's deputy till June this year, when the latter ended his party's 17-year-old alliance with the BJP to protest against the elevation of Narendra Modi.
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