BJP reacts to Lalu's comment on Nitish

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has reacted sharply over the comments of Railway Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Yadav who questioned the secular credential of Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar.

Lalu, earlier this day, had lashed out at Kumar’s U-turn by sharing the stage with Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in a joint election rally of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Ludhiana on Sunday led by BJP's prime ministerial candidate L K Advani.

Lalu said, "Nitish sacrificed his secular image by joining a murderer like Modi."

The Bihar chief minister had earlier refused to attend an NDA rally in New Delhi by saying that he was not prepared to share the stage with Modi. “As the elections in Bihar are over now, he (Nitish) returned to his original self,” Lalu said.

Reacting to Lalu’s comment, BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad in an interview to a television channel termed Lalu’s miff as sheer desperation to save his political career. The BJP, however, said that Kumar is very much a part of the NDA and that Lalu is not only attacking Nitish Kumar but Congress as well.

Prasad told, "This is very surprising. Lalu was not supposed to speak before the 16th. How has he spoken today? It is a sign of desperation. Nitish is a part of the NDA right from day one. Narendra Modi is a duly elected thrice Chief Minister of Gujarat and is doing good work. Lalu Prasad is getting a washout, hence all this desperation."

‘He is not only attacking Nitish, he is attacking the Congress as well. In the last 20 years, Lalu is finding himself in a mess for the first time when he has no legs to stand,’ he added.

Earlier in a statement, Lalu said, "I always said Nitish has 'teeth in his stomach' (a complicated person). Now, people like Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi, who had given him the secular certificate, and others who favourably spoke of him will realise how secular he is."

Meanwhile, the railway minister ending all the speculation of his moving away from the Congress said, 'The UPA (United Progressive Alliance) will form the next government in the centre. We are solidly with the UPA.'

- Agencies