BJP accuses Nitish of undermining coalition

ANGRY ALLIES: In a spree to outshine Lalu Prasad, Nitish Kumar has forgotten his allies.

J & K | Chhattisgarh | Delhi | MP |
Mizoram | Rajasthan

Featured Blog

Rajdeep Sardesai

26/11: Terror comes precariously close

Featured Slideshows

New Delhi: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday faced the ire of his ally BJP which alleged his "unilateral initiatives" in dealing with the flood situation in the state has undermined the coalition partner.

Nitish Kumar, who was in the Capital to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to discuss the flood situation in northern Bihar, was rung up by senior BJP leader Venkiah Naidu asking him to "make it convenient" to brief L K Advani on the measures taken by his government.

"In a spree to outshine his state rival Lalu Prasad, Nitish Kumar has forgotten who his allies are in the state," a senior party leader said.

It is customary to have atleast one member of the coalition partner to attend a meeting with the Prime Minister. Nitish Kumar led JD(U) even thought it was not necessary.

He is running from pillar to post without meeting his own allies, he added.

Kumar, who later met senior party leader L K Advani at his residence is understood to have briefed the leader about the steps taken by his government to deal with the flood situation.

"He tried to prove the point that it was a period of crisis for the state and it was unintentional if coalition norms were not adhered to," sources said.

BJP recently faced a strong rebellion within its state unit with the detractors alleging that the Nitish Kumar-led government was not taking into confidence BJP leaders in important matters.

They also accused party's Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi of playing into the hands of Kumar.

Bihar is facing a severe flood situation with River Kosi entering the state from Nepal changing its course of flow.

To read IBNLive stories on mobile, log on to m.ibnlive.com on your mobile browser