Nitish’s ‘sandalwood and snakes’ tweet sparks a row

PATNA: A cryptic by chief minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday triggered a war of words in Bihar and prompted speculation about an alliance between his Janata Dal (United) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal.

After he was asked on Twitter how he would ensure Bihar’s development in the RJD’s company, the JD(U) leader tweeted, “Jo Raheem uttam prakriti ka kari sakar susang, chandan vish vyapt nahin lipte rahat bhujang. (People with good nature are like a sandalwood tree, which does not lose its fragrance even if snakes surround it).” The Opposition BJP picked on the tweet — a famous couplet by Kabir — to question the “unnatural alliance” forged by the JD(U) and RJD for the upcoming assembly polls in Bihar. “People have this habit of reading too far. Even when Laluji referred to poison (while speaking of the RJD-JD(U)alliance), he had meant he was ready to pick up the gauntlet to stamp out the poison of communalism but the BJP read (that as) a message for me,” the CMsaid. HTC