Nitish only NDA CM to skip event

Trust Nitish Kumar to send a loaded political message to the BJP on the International Day of Yoga. While all other chief ministers were in a scramble to attend the event in their respective state capitals and tying themselves into knots trying to emulate the prime minister, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar gave it a miss.

Media sources said Nitish had skipped the event for the fourth consecutive year. But while his conduct could be seen in perspective when he was a part of Lalu Yadav’s RJD-JD-U combine, it is at odds with his current status as a constituent of the NDA.

The absence this year was even more intriguing considering that Nitish does yoga every day.

Ironically, the deviant behaviour came on a day PM Modi was telling the world: "Yoga has emerged as the biggest unifying force in the world." Another profound statement came a little later, just before the PM went on to perform the asanas. ‘‘Instead of increasing suffering, Yoga heals," he told the large gathering at Dehradun. Nitish was not listening.

In Patna, the event was inaugurated by Governor Satya Pal Malik and attended by top BJP leaders, including union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Sushil Kumar Modi. Sushil came to Kumar's defence, saying that everyone needn't participate in the celebrations, adding that he knew many JD (U) leaders who attended the event.

But when Prasad was questioned by India Today about the non-participation of Nitish, he was less charitable and said: "Nitish Kumar is a yoga enthusiast and yoga is a medium to connect. Media should find out what is the politics behind Nitish Kumar's absence."

Those who are in the inner circle of Nitish know that his father Kabiraj Ram Lakhan Singh was a famed Ayurvedic vaidyaraj who had introduced the former to the Indian system of medicine and yoga exercises early in childhood. To that extent, yoga is part of his daily life.

Nitish is also clever enough to understand that his absence on Yoga day – which is being personally hyped by PM Modi – would send the wrong signal to his detractors in the NDA. The message, of course, is loud and clear – that Nitish is not too happy with certain things and these differences will become pronounced in the run-up to the general elections.