Bihar CM ups ante in fight with BJP

PATNA: The BJP and JD(U) took their fight up yet another notch on Tuesday as Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar mounted a fresh attack on Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and the senior ally declared it would be discussing the present political situation at a meeting of its core committee on Bihar with BJP president Rajnath Singh in Delhi on Thursday.

Rejecting the BJP charge that he had done little as railway min- ister during the Godhra train carnage that led to the 2002 communal riots in Gujarat, the Bihar CM shot back that law and order was the responsibility of the Modi government. Nitish had on Sunday questioned the Gujarat CM’s secular credentials in the backdrop of his emerging as a possible PM candidate.

“I discharged my duties as rail minister with full responsibili- ty. It is a railway minister’s duty to oversee the safety and security of the railways. Maintaining law and order is a state subject,” he said.

Later, his deputy Sushil Kumar Modi said the BJP core committee — which includes Modi — would take a call on the “unfortunate” developments.

In Delhi, asked if the BJP would snap ties with the JD(U) after the Karnataka polls, Rajnath said: “Whatever happens and whenever it happens, we will sit together.”

RELATED REPORT, P9