'Nitish trying to appease Muslims'

Addressing a press conference here, BJP national vice-president Kalraj Mishra alleged that the decision of the Bihar chief minister to return the cheque to Gujarat appeared to be “influenced by the vote bank politics” in Bihar.

“Bihar has a significant Muslim population and the Bihar chief minister may be trying to appease them,” the BJP leader said. Mishra, however, slammed Kumar for remaining silent on the Bhopal gas tragedy although a majority of the victims belonged to the Muslim community.

The saffron party leader, while making it clear that his party wanted the alliance with the JD (U) to continue, said the return of the cheque could have an impact on the coalition government in Bihar.

“Nitish Kumar, by his act, has hurt the sentiment of the people not only in Gujarat but in the entire country,” Mishra added. He said the relief cheque was not a loan but was an assistance, which could not be returned. “Moreover, the money does not belong to Narendra Modi, it belonged to the people of Gujarat,” he said.

Drama to gain votes

Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad sees a ‘political drama’ in the Nitish Kumar-BJP row  to gain minority votes.

“Keeping in view the coming assembly elections, he (Nitish) wants to distance himself from Narendra Modi to cheat minorities. He wants their vote,” Lalu said on Sunday. He said not only did Nitish shared the dais with Modi in Ludhiana NDA rally but also praised the BJP.

The RJD leader said if BJP has self esteem it should now withdraw support to the Nitish government. He said Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi’s staying away from  Vishwas Yatra was a part of the drama. Lalu also accused Nitish of joining hands with RSS to oust him form the power. “He was running his government with their support,” he said.