Now, Sushil Modi cancels tour with Nitish Kumar

NEW DELHI: A day after the Bihar chief minister returned Rs 5 crore received by his state from the Narendra Modi-led Gujarat government to help with Kosi flood relief, deputy CM and BJP leader Sushil Modi cancelled a programme with Nitish Kumar.

The Bihar deputy CM was scheduled to go on a Vishwas Yatra trip with Nitish Kumar.

The decision to return the Gujarat money was taken on Saturday to protest against advertisements published in the newspapers in Bihar, to coincide with the BJP's national executive meeting in Patna. The adverts praised Gujarat Chief MNarendra Modi for providing monetary help to the flood victims.

That Nitish Kumar has followed through on his week-old comment that he would return the cheque is laden with significance. It could have a serious fallout for the JDU-BJP alliance, which pulled off an upset win against a formidable Lalu Prasad five years ago.

By making good his threat, Kumar has exercised an autonomy that will strain ties in the lead up to elections, when the partners would, in any case, squabble over who gets to contest how many seats.