BJP plans to quit Nitish govt after Karnataka polls

NEW DELHI: Smarting under Nitish Kumar's frontal assault on Narendra Modi, BJP on Monday fired back at the Bihar chief minister amid mounting indications that it was preparing to pull out of the Bihar coalition. Sources said the BJP was readying itself to disengage from the Kumar-led government after next month's Karnataka polls in retaliation against what the party called the humiliation the JD(U) leader had inflicted on the party on Sunday when he viciously attacked the Gujarat CM. "This is unacceptable, and reminds us of the way the JD(U) leader's socialist seniors raised the bogey of communalism to topple the Janata government in 1979. He has pushed us to a point of no return," said a BJP office-bearer, reflecting the anger that has built up in the party since Kumar lit into Modi. BJP's withdrawal will not threaten the Kumar government's survival. The CM enjoys the support of 120 MLAs in the 243-strong House and, with the formation of no alternative government possible, can attract the indirect support of many others who will not like to face an early election. In 1979, socialist members of the Janata Party had broken away by protesting against the RSS affiliation of leaders of the Jana Sangh, the BJP's earlier incarnation. A preview of a formal divorce came through BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi's aggressive reminder to the Bihar CM that he had remained with NDA all these years after the 2002 communal violence, cited by JD(U) and other detractors as the chief evidence of Modi's alleged communalism. "In 2002 also, Nitish Kumar was a part of our (NDA) government. During the Sabarmati Express incident (Godhra, 2002), he was the rail minister," Lekhi said. The putdown mimicked the taunt that Kumar's "secular" rivals have always hurled at him, saying that he had no qualm in partnering "communal" BJP, and that his conversion to the anti-Modi camp was an opportunistic political ploy: a true reflection of the rising hostilities over the past 24 hours. Lekhi threw more barbs at Kumar, calling his attack on Modi on Sunday abhorrent. "So far as any allegation, accusation against our CM is concerned, we completely abhor that and Kumar is nobody whose certificate is required so far as that particular aspect is concerned," she told reporters. In a TV interview, party chief Rajnath Singh termed Kumar's attack on Modi as "unfortunate". "What has happened should not have happened," he said. Although he refused to confirm that the party has decided to get out of the Kumar-led government, party sources said the core group and the party's parliamentary board may take the call soon after Karnataka polls on May 5. BJP was not impressed by Kumar seeking to balance his attack on Modi by saying that the BJP and JD(U) were old allies, and that his problem was only with Modi's "communal" credentials, rather than the entire BJP leadership. Lekhi said Kumar "does not have to speak" on Modi's credentials. She also dismissed the distinction drawn between Modi and his colleagues. "We have specified that there is nobody in BJP who is not secular," the spokesperson said, asserting that the BJP would not compromise on its ideology. Earlier in the day, a group of BJP leaders from Bihar, all known critics of Kumar, met Rajnath Singh here and conveyed to him their anger towards the Bihar CM. These leaders, who have openly supported Modi, told Singh that it was time the alliance with JD(U) was snapped as it was only harming the BJP. The group comprised former Bihar unit chief C P Thakur, Bihar health minister Ashwini Choubey, Giriraj Singh and Chandramohan Rai, among others.   TOI