Nitish too should quit on moral grounds: Sushil Kumar Modi

PATNA: BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi on Sunday criticised Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over his decision to walk out of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) saying Kumar too should resign on moral grounds. Attacking the 17-year-old ally for "disrespecting" the people's mandate in 2010 assembly polls, the former deputy chief minister has called for a Bihar bandh on June 18.

"Nitish Kumar should resign as the chief minister on moral grounds... He was elected as head of the NDA in Bihar when he was made the chief minister. Now that he is no more an NDA leader, he has no moral right to continue," Modi told reporters here after the JD-U snapped ties with the BJP.

Kumar should resign, get elected as JD-U leader for the chief minister's post and then go to the governor, Modi said.

"The unprovoked and unilateral decision of the JD-U to split from the NDA is a gross insult to a landslide mandate given to the coalition government by the people of Bihar in 2010 assembly polls...the development is unfortunate and what the JD(U) has done can be described as deceit to the voters and us," he told reporters.

During the Bihar 'bandh', the BJP would protest against the JD-U in a bid to send a message that it was responsible for breaking the alliance. Even as its leaders took on the JD-U, the BJP circulated a speech made by the Bihar chief minister in 2003 when he was the railway minister in Vajpayee regime.