It is now the turn of the BJP to fume. The saffron party is up in arms over advertisements released by the Bihar government, of which it is a part, that project only chief minister Nitish Kumar of the JD(U) as “Vikas Purush” but make no mention of the BJP’s Sushil Kumar, who is deputy chief minister.
Referring to the earlier advertisement controversy in the state, which had been instigated by Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, one of the state BJP leaders wondered: “Why isn’t Sushil Modi being shown (in the ads). Nitish might have a problem with Narendra Modi, but what’s his problem with Sushil Modi?”
The BJP claimed that the party was very much a part of the “Vishwas Yatra” launched by the coalition government in the state and could not be ignored in this manner.
The Bihar government ads, however, only mention Mr Kumar and his achievements, and projects him as the man working for the state’s all-round development, with no mention of the BJP. Senior state BJP leader Ramshwar Prasad Chaurasia, criticising this publicity blitz, said: “It seems in the ads that Nitish is responsible for Bihar’s development ... as if we have no role to play.”
When asked about the BJP succumbing to Mr Kumar’s diktat to keep Mr Narrendra Modi away from Bihar, Mr Chaurasia said: “BJP leaders across the country want Narendraji to visit their states. There is a strong demand for Narendra Modi, not merely in Bihar but across the country.”
The ads, with huge pictures of the chief minister, quote Mr Kumar as saying he felt “duty bound” to undertake the “Vishwas Yatra” campaign. “On assuming charge as CM I had promised I would not go back to the people to seek their votes for another term if I realised my government had failed to deliver. The Vishwas Yatra is therefore essentially an exercise in self-appraisal and assessment.”
The accompanying publicity material talk of how Mr Kumar had planned the yatras in 2009 and of his travels across Bihar, but though his deputy Sushil Modi had accompanied him then, there is no mention of that. There are further references to the CM’s interactions with ordinary people, listening to their grievances and sorting them out, of review meetings with state officials, and includes a quote from the CM: “A lot is still to be done. But I can feel the winds of change across the state.”
When contacted, senior Bihar leader and BJP spokesman Shahnawaz Hussain said: “I cannot comment. It is a state government matter.” Sources, however, said that senior leaders from the state, including Mr Hussain as well as Mr Rajiv Pratap Rudy, are seething over Mr Kumar’s repeated slights to their party. Asked Mr Chaurasia: “Where was Nitish Kumar when the BJP was fighting against lawlessness and corruption in Bihar?”
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Lalu & LJP bandh shuts down Bihar
Age Correspondent
Patna
July 10: A statewide Bihar bandh enforced by the RJD and LJP on Saturday to protest against the fuel price hike and corruption under the Nitish Kumar government shut down most of the state largely due to the fear factor associated with the workers of both parties. Normal life was badly hit.
Both RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan courted arrest in the bandh, while citizens were manhandled and trains and government officials forcibly detained.