Sharad Yadav political guru: Ex-Dy CM
A day after members of the BJP and JD(U) clashed in the legislative Council, the senior State BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi sprang a surprise on Friday and apologised to JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar whom he had blamed for “instigating” his party members to trade blows in the Upper House.
Modi also called JD(U) president Sharad Yadav as his political guru and the man whom he owed a lot in his political career. “I express regret for yesterday’s incident and say sorry to Nitish Kumar or the JD(U) if any BJP member had done anything wrong,” said Sushil Modi.
He also requested Kumar to return to the House. “I respect Nitish Kumar from the core of my heart and learnt a lot from him as Deputy Chief Minister during the NDA rule in the State,” Modi said further.
“I request him to return to the House. I have personal and political association with Nitish Kumar, lalu Prasad and Ram Vilas Paswan for the past 40 years”, said the BJP leader when all-party meeting was called by the Council chairman to end the stalemate between the two parties.
Modi, who was famously known for his proximity with Kumar during the NDA regime in Bihar, even went further and called JD(U) president Sharad Yadav as his “political guru”.
“In my political career I owe a lot to one man and he is Sharad Yadav. I respect him as my political guru,” said Modi which surprised one and all not only in the BJP but also to all in political spectrum. Significantly, the senior BJP leader is believed to lead the party in the upcoming State Assembly polls due next year in October-November.
Earlier on Thursday after Modi accused Kumar of “instigating” his party members for clash inside the Council, Kumar had said that he would not enter into the House until an inquiry committee absolves him of the charges.
Following the fracas the Council chairman, Awadhesh Narayan Singh had called an all-party meet on Friday to end the stalemate between the two parties. A unanimous resolution was also passed requesting Kumar to come back to the House.
Even the Council chairman expressed pain over the House clash on Thursday and gave clean chit to Kumar. “I saw it with my own eyes and the TV footage also makes it clear that Nitish Kumar did not instigate anybody to pick fight. He rather worked hard to bring peace among warring members”.
Further Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi said that he considered Kumar as his “icon” and “any unruly behaviour can never be expected from him”. With Modi’s apology and other leaders’ all-out praise for him, the visibly contended Kumar later attended proceedings in the House with party members. The BJP leaders too participated in the functioning of the House.
“Now everything has been settled…patakchep ho gaya hai sabhi chizon per…aage kuch nahi hai aapko batane ke liye”, Kumar told mediapersons on the legislative building premises.
Meanwhile, the buzz in political circle of the State was that since JD(U) president Sharad Yadav was the man who had played an important role in making Sushil Modi the Deputy Chief Minister of the State during Kumar’s regime, he expressed his obligations to him today.
The JD(U) president was also the national convener of NDA at that time. “Besides, Sharadji had also asked Sushil Modi to return to State politics in 2005 when Modi had won lok Sabha poll from Bhagalpur,” said a JD(U) leader.
later, Modi had resigned from Parliament to become member of State legislative Council like Kumar after NDA assumed power in November 2005 and he was appointed as Deputy Chief Minister of the State, said the JD(U) leader. Earlier, in a reciprocal gesture Sushil Modi, said party sources, had ensured Sharad Yadav’s unopposed win for a Rajya Sabha seat recently.
Meanwhile, the State BJP leaders avoided media to make any comment over the surprising move of their party leader just within 24 hours after they had come to blows inside the House.
A party leader, however, on the condition of anonymity, said: “I wonder how we’d contest the upcoming State Assembly poll against Nitish Kumar and lalu Prasad under leadership of such a weak party leader who cannot withstand even a simple threat of Nitish Kumar”.