Patna, Jul 15: Decrying the 'puppy' and 'burqa' remarks, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, in a veiled attack on Narendra Modi, said use of such language will not yield votes for the BJP, and instead will only pollute the environment.
"Use of such derogatory language will not earn any votes for the BJP in elections ... but it will definitely pollute the environment in the country," Kumar told reporters here reacting to the Gujarat chief minister's 'puppy' and 'burqa' comments.
Modi had accused the Congress of hiding behind burqa (veil) of secularism to hide its failures. In an interview to a foreign news agency earlier, he had on being asked whether he regretted the 2002 riots in Gujarat, responded that one will feel sad even if a puppy comes under the vehicle you are travelling in.
Such 'poisonous' language would trigger similar reaction from others which would disturb peace and harmony in the country, he said.
Kumar, a senior JD(U) leader, said, "The kind of things happening in the past 2-3 days (Modi's puppy and burqa comments in particular) vindicates JD(U)'s decision to snap ties with BJP whose leadership has now become divisive."
"The cat is now out of the bag ... our apprehension is coming true," Kumar said, justifying JD(U)'s decision to break up with 17-year-old NDA partner BJP over elevation of Modi as BJP campaign committee chief.
On lawyer-politician Ram Jethmalani's comments in Rajat Sharma's Aap Ki Adalat that he would work for unity between Modi and RJD chief Lalu Prasad, whose case in fodder scam he has taken up, Kumar said, "I have been speaking about their liaison for long and now Ram Jethmalani has provided the seal of approval over this hidden fact."
"For public consumption Lalu has been criticising Modi, but in private they enjoy good rapport and work in tandem ...this has been proved by Jethmalani's comments," Kumar said.
He also said that Lalu and Modi used the same language "though it harms him more than doing any good."
Kumar blamed the BJP for 'wasting' the opportunity to take up issues against the UPA government.
"Instead of prominently raising issues like price rise and corruption against UPA, BJP tried to impose its will (Modi) over allies which was not acceptable to us," he said.
Asked about the possibility of a tie-up between JD(U) and Congress, Kumar said party President Sharad Yadav had
already ruled out such an alliance.
Asked if JD(U) would participate in talks between some parties on July 21 at Jaipur for giving shape to a Third Front, Kumar said he had no information about such a meeting.
He, said the JD(U) had decided to strengthen its base and "walk alone".
