New Delhi: BJP today targeted Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for attending a Third Front meeting here, saying such an alliance is “illusory” and alleged that the JD-U leader is actually growing closer to the Congress and even speaking its language.
Deputy Leader of the BJP in Rajya Sabha Ravi Shankar Prasad launched a scathing attack on Kumar and accused him of hobnobbing with non-Congress, non-BJP parties.
“A ritual is on in Delhi which takes place before every Lok Sabha election. This is a quest for an illusory Third Front but the Third Front is history. It has no relevance for the present nor any promise for the future,” he said.
Some people just come together on an anti-communal, or an anti-Congress plank before the polls, he added.
The main Opposition faulted Kumar, who had slammed BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi yesterday, for not mentioning the involvement of Indian Mujahideen in the blasts during the Patna rally and for being soft on Congress.
“There was not even a whisper from Nitish Kumar on corruption in Congress, or the tear-giving price rise of onions and other items, and not a word on the malgovernance of UPA government,” Prasad said.
The party wondered how Kumar could eulogise JP and Ram Manohar Lohia- who were symbols of anti-Congress politics- but not criticise the ruling party.
“Nitish Kumar has also been completely ambiguous about the alliance with the Congress. As you all know he is seeking an alliance with it,” Prasad said.
Attacking the former NDA ally, he charged Kumar with even using the vocabulary of the Congress.
“We were troubled to hear Kumar call Modi Hitler and fascist as this is the language of the Congress. Indira Gandhi used to call JP fascist. We were called fascists in 1989 by those who were attacking V P Singh for taking our support. Hitler and fascist are the language of losers. Why is Nitish using it? Has he already accepted defeat?” he asked.
BJP maintained that the “utterances and conduct” of Kumar confirm Modi’s words against him.
“Moreover, the Nitish Kumar government is surviving on Congress support,” Prasad said.
Asking Kumar to use his acumen as a political activist, BJP said he should be able to understand that there is a “public wave” in favour of Modi and not any artificial “blower’s wind” as he had described yesterday.
“Nitish Kumar is soft on Congress and hence is being harsh on Modi,” Prasad said.
Insisting that Modi was the target of the terrorists at the Patna rally, the BJP leader sought to know why Kumar has maintained a “conspicuous silence” on the involvement of Indian Mujahideen.
“Modi was the target and IM is responsible but Nitish Kumar did not mention this. Earlier, Bihar Police had refused to arrest Yasin Bhatkal though he had worked as a IM activist for two years in the Madhubani area. Tehseen Akhtar, who has been arrested in the blast case, was recruited by Bhatkal,” he said.
He reiterated the BJP charge that the whole approach of the Nitish Kumar government to the incident has been “casual and a copybook case of criminal negligence”.
“Conduct of the Nitish government in initiating action against IM is not of cooperation and coordination but of opposition and obstruction,” he said.
The main Opposition further alleged that security arrangement at the rally venue was far from adequate.
