New Delhi, Jun 17: The bitter falling out between BJP and JD(U) was evident with the saffron party releasing Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar's 2003 speech in which he praised Gujarat CM Narendra Modi as a leader with a future outside the state.
The BJP move to embarrass Kumar - who has made opposition to Modi a cornerstone of his "secular" politics - is intended to argue that the Bihar CM was not always opposed to the saffron strongman.
As the speech delivered at the inauguration of a railway project is well after the 2002 riots, the BJP's intent is obvious. "I am certain that Narendrabhai will not be confined to Gujarat for long and the country will get the benefit of his services," Kumar is quoted as saying.
JD(U) sources were, however, quick to argue that the BJP move smacked of its desperation after the breakup of the alliance and amounted to trying to shoot a messenger who bears bad news. "This won't take away from the fact that Modi is a deeply divisive and polarizing leader," a senior JD(U) leader said.
Meanwhile, BJP president Rajnath Singh said he was "saddened" by the "unfortunate" walking out of JD(U) from NDA and maintained that it would weaken the fight against Congress.
However, Singh also got a taste of continuing rumblings in BJP with veteran leader L K Advani reported to have brought up Modi's elevation as head of the party's campaign committee as a reason for the breakup of the alliance with JD(U).
Advani and leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj see the end of the alliance as a highly unfortunate development although the mood of other leaders, including those from Bihar, has turned more aggressive. "The breakup of NDA is sad and unfortunate," Swaraj said on Twitter.
Rajnath, however, had a different take on the events and said, "We always treated JD(U) as a younger brother and our relationship of 17 years was not a political but an emotional one. It was never made under pressure."
Singh was speaking at a programme organised by the BJP's youth wing. "When a coalition is formed, it is based on trust and mutual understanding. When that goes, it is really sad. We can be betrayed but we will never betray," he said.
He said if Modi was being considered communal because of the 2002 post-Godhra riots, there have been thousands of riots in 24 years of Congress rule since independence.
Singh pointed out that in 2000, BJP was a bigger party than JD(U) in Bihar as it had 60 seats while JD(U) won only "36-37 seats". But still, BJP chose a JD(U) leader to become chief minister, he said.
He warned JD(U) that a party which does not care for the feelings of the people in a democratic country cannot survive for long.
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