Nitish returns Rs 5-crore Gujarat aid

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Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today rebuffed his Gujarat counterpart Narendra Modi by returning the Rs 5-crore aid given by him for the Kosi flood victims, drawing sharp attack from the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and other parties like the Congress, the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Lok Janshakti Party.

Kumar, who was angry after local papers last week carried advertisements about the help given by the Gujarat government for the 2008 Kosi flood victims, returned the money that was lying unspent in the chief minister’s relief fund, officials said. Kumar had described the Modi government’s claim of liberal donation as “uncivilised”.

Reacting to Kumar’s decision to return the money, the Gujarat government said the move was “unfortunate”. “The decision is unfortunate,” Gujarat minister and government spokesperson Jaynarayan Vyas told reporters in Dwarka, Gujarat. The assistance was given as a token of brotherly affection, he added.

BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said in New Delhi the funds were given in a spirit of solidarity and empathy with the flood victims. “I wonder if only the money is being returned or the feeling of empathy, solidarity and spirit of togetherness too,” Sitharaman said.

Hitting out at Kumar, actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha said it reflected the Janata Dal (United) leader’s “arrogance”.

The BJP’s Lok Sabha member from Patna said Kumar’s action seemed to be inspired by his overwhelming concern for minority votes in the coming Bihar Assembly elections. Terming the decision as “arbitrary”, he said the money did not belong either to Kumar or Modi but to flood victims. He urged BJP President Nitin Gadkari and leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, to immediately call Kumar’s “bluff”.

Senior BJP leader and Bihar minister Giriraj Singh said Kumar’s decision was “uncultured”. The return of the funds was “against Constitutional prestige”, he added.

The Bihar chief minister had also taken strong exception to the use of a photograph showing him holding Modi’s hand in another advertisement published in local dailies, and had even threatened to take legal action against those responsible.

But despite the spat between Kumar and Modi, JD-U chief Sharad Yadav asserted that the party’s alliance with the BJP in Bihar would continue. “The ties between the two parties are old and they will continue. There is no question of any break-up,” he said.

RJD chief Lalu Prasad too had a dig at his arch rival saying Kumar’s decision was “nothing but an absurdity.”