While Anna Hazare’s praise for both Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar in the same breath has become difficult for Bihar’s ruling JD(U) to handle, a noted Gandhian activist in the state on Wednesday made matters worse for the embattled crusader by saying he was confused.
The JD(U), ever keen on maintaining an ideological distance from its ally BJP, finds Mr Hazare’s equating of Mr Kumar and Mr Modi as exemplary chief ministers embarrassing after questions were raised over the social activist’s judgment in naming Mr Modi despite the stain of the Gujarat riots. Given the importance of the Muslim vote in Bihar and Kumar’s highly balanced posturing that keeps both the BJP and the minorities satisfied, JD(U) leaders, when they discuss Mr Hazare’s praise for Mr Kumar, do not mention Mr Modi. Some JD(U) leaders even described the crisis as an “A-bomb”.
Even Mr Kumar himself has now turned cagey on the issue, though he had profusely thanked Mr Hazare for praising him for bringing about improvements in people’s lives in Bihar. When asked to comment on his being equated with Modi by Mr Hazare, Kumar curtly said on Monday: “What can I say? There is nothing for me to say.”
Mr Hazare, whose praise for Mr Modi prompted the Opposition in Bihar to accuse him of communalism, failed to impress Gandhain thinker and activist Razi Ahmed. “He (Hazare) seems confused about what he wants to achieve and how. The campaign also seems to have a corporate hand,” said Ahmed, secretary of Patna’s Gandhi museum.