Nitish's secular facade stands exposed, says Lalu

UPA allies RJD and LJP on Monday attacked Congress over its overtures to JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar, saying his shaking hands with BJP's Hindutva mascot Narendra Modi at an NDA rally in Ludhiana shows "how secular he is".

Hitting at Congress, RJD chief Lalu Prasad said, "people like Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi, who had given Nitish the secular certificate and others who favourably spoke of him will realise how secular he is."

Prasad said in Patna "Nitish has 'teeth in his stomach' (a complicated person)."

In a similar vein, LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan said here "those who are propagating the JD(U) leader's secular credentials... need to think twice."

Both the leaders slammed Kumar, saying the "secular facade" of Bihar Chief Minister stood exposed after the event.

At the Ludhiana rally yesterday Nitish and Modi clasped hands and the latter even praised the Bihar Chief Minister for revolutionising agriculture in the state.

Prasad ridiculed Kumar for attending the rally after saying on record that he would not share stage with Modi. "But once elections in Bihar were over, he (Nitish) returned to his original self," he said.

Paswan on the other hand alleged that Kumar had "crossed all limits of opportunism" by sharing dais with Modi.

Paswan said that his stand that the JD(U) leader will not severe ties with BJP was vindicated after Kumar "hugged" Modi at the NDA rally.

"Kumar had stopped Modi from visiting Bihar during the elections and had not even put photos of L K Advani in party posters in the state fearing Muslim backlash," he said.

Pointing out that he had resigned from the NDA ministry after the Gujarat riots, Paswan said, "Nitish continued as Railway minister in NDA government and tinkered with the investigation of Sabarmati Express inferno incident."

He also alleged that Kumar had acted to destroy the evidences of the incident and blocked a probe into it.

... contd.

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