JD(U) crash course for Modi on growth

PATNA: An increasingly frequent war of words between NDA allies JD(U) and BJP grew shriller on Tuesday after Nitish Kumar’s party took exception to a comment by Narendra Modi in which he held up Gujarat as a model for Bihar to emulate.


Modi, on a tour to Kolkata after a string of speeches in Delhi on Monday, said the Gujarat model of growth can be adopted in Bihar, triggering sharp reactions from a parade of JD(U) officials.

JD(U) spokesman Shivanand Tiwari slammed Modi’s statement, saying Modi should instead learn from Bihar’s model. “Gujarat model is non-inclusive… The way Modi has been talking, it seems he has accepted himself to be prime ministerial candidate of the BJP,” Tiwari remarked.

Relations between the two alliance partners have been on a slippery slope and marked by tension after JD(U) strongman and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar indicated to ET in an interview last year that Modi’s candidature for prime ministership will not be acceptable to him. Although BJP and JD(U) have been maintaining that there was no friction in their relations, both sides have been preparing for the possibility of a break-up before the next poll.

Another JD(U) spokesman Neeraj Kumar said: “Our model is inclusive, there is space for all, there is development with justice… So no other model is required for Bihar. Even suggestions are not required from anyone."