The Bihar BJP does not seem to be very impressed with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar holding out an olive branch to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and expressing his desire to have a close working relation in the larger interest of Bihar's development. Senior BJP leader and Nitish's former deputy Sushil Kumar Modi on Monday said that the PM congratulated the Chief Minister in no time but Nitish took days to greet the PM. "How can one forget Nitish calling Narendra Modi 'desh todwa' (nation breaker)IJ" he said.
The State BJP leaders did not appreciate Nitish's move to extend a friendly hand to Narendra Modi after he broke the 17-year-old alliance when the BJP was about to promote him as a PM candidate. Political observers said that Nitish had resigned in May last year primarily because as a Chief Minister he did not want to pay respect to Modi and approach him with the State's requests. "Had Nitish realised his fault in 2013 the situation would not have been this worse," commented leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly Nand Kishore Yadav.
Soon after taking oath on Sunday evening, the CM said, "Whatever our political differences, the CM and the PM have to interact and I would meet the PM with requests of all that Bihar requires. I aspire to build a State that confidently carries the narrative of a positive future, vibrant culture and resilient harmony. And in doing so, I will readily work with the honourable Prime Minister and the Government of India."
In 2009, Modi, the then Gujarat Chief Minister, had got a full-page advertisement published in all the newspapers of the State with a blow-up of Nitish and Modi holding hands aloft. This picture made Nitish so upset that he had abruptly cancelled the lunch he had hosted in honour of all the BJP leaders attending the national meeting.
Sushil Modi said Nitish at his Press conference had claimed that people were not happy with his resignation and asked the Bihar CM if people were happy when he severed ties with the BJP and allied with the RJD and the Congress. He also retorted that in 2010 Assembly election the mandate was not to one party or a single person but the mandate was also not to break ties with the BJP, resign, foist someone else and come back according to his whims.
The BJP leader said Nitish had also realised that during the last 21 months, governance became a victim and development suffered. "Now, Nitish has come to bat in the last over. He is left with only six balls and wants to score a century which is impossible," said Sushil Modi. He also suspected differences between Nitish and RJD supremo lalu Prasad and claimed that their tiff was the reason why neither lalu Prasad nor Rabri Devi or any member of that family attended Sunday's swearing-in ceremony. Further, he said that the RJD was averse to joining the Ministry.