Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a scathing attack on his old foe Nitish Kumar at a massive rally in Muzaffarpur in Bihar, saying there was “something terribly wrong with his DNA”. The Bihar CM replied to the barb later in the day, saying Bihar is in his DNA.
Modi, who blew the bugle for the prestigious Bihar Assembly polls due later this year, said: “Nitish first invited me to a dinner in 2010 and then suddenly cancelled it. Being a son of a chaiwala, I gulped poison that time, much before Lalu (the Rashtriya Janata Dal chief too had said similar thing earlier this year). But when Nitish removed Jitan Ram Manjhi, a Mahadalit, from the CM’s post, I realised there is something terribly wrong with his DNA.”
The PM recalled before the people how Nitish Kumar had rocked the BJP-JD(U) alliance in 2013 out of hatred for him and allowed Bihar to drift towards a Jungle Raj (lawlessness).
“Such was Nitish’s hatred for me that he ended a 17-year-old long alliance with the BJP. Today, I must tell him that if he had such antipathy for me, he should have come to my room and slapped me. But why break a fruitful alliance and penalise the people of Bihar by derailing development,” Modi asked.
Nitish Kumar ended his party’s long association with the National Democratic Alliance in the wake of Modi’s rise in the BJP’s ranks a year ahead of the last Lok Sabha election.
“During Lok Sabha election, Nitish used to make fun of me and my tweets, saying that its only birds that chirp. One year down the line, he himself has taken to tweeting and today welcomed me (through tweets) for coming to Bihar for the first time after becoming the PM,” Modi said.
Praising his audience, the PM said: “All political pundits, who want to know the poll outcome of the Bihar Assembly elections, should see this sea of humanity. They will realise who is going to form the next government in Bihar.”
Citing the example of a twin-engine tractor, Modi said: “You should have a tractor with two engines. You have already given us the Centre. Now give us the State. Together, we will put Bihar on the fast-track of development,” he said.
Modi also came down heavily on RJD chief Lalu Prasad, the friend-turned-foe-turned-friend of Nitish Kumar. The PM even coined a new name for the RJD on the occasion, saying it stands for “Rojana Jungle-raj ka Darr” today. On Saturday, Nitish replied to Modi’s DNA remark in a tweet. “I am Bihar’s son and Bihar is in my DNA,”he said. “Modi and BJP’s DNA speak lies and spread falsehood,” Lalu Prasad said. The PM was accompanied by Union ministers Ram Vilas Paswan, Upendra Kushwaha, Radha Mohan Singh, former Bihar deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi and former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi .