BJP pulls up Nitish for blaming Centre

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday hit back at senior Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar for holding Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Centre responsible for the ongoing political deadlock in Bihar.

Senior BJP leader and Union Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said the Centre has no role in the ongoing war of the 'Janata Parivar'.

"I would like to make it very clear there is already a war in 'parivar of the Janata'. They are divided not united. The Centre has no role in that. Modiji has no role at all. Mr. Nitish Kumar is blaming Modi and the Central Government for their failures," Naidu told the media here.

"Who asked you to resign Mr. Nitish Kumar as the Chief Minister? Did Mr. Modi ask you to resign? Who asked you Mr. Nitish Kumar to make Manjhi as the Chief Minister? Did anybody tell you? You made him the Chief Minister. Who asked you to ask Manjhi to resign as the Chief Minister? It is your decision. You wanted to play a drama for some time," he added.

The JD (U) leader had earlier accused Prime Minister Modi and the BJP of 'attempting to throttle democracy'.

Kumar also alleged that the Bihar Governor's decision to ask Manjhi to prove his majority in the state assembly on February 20 has been scripted in Delhi and is designed to 'allow horse-trading of MLAs'.

Kumar, who is engaged in an intense tussle with Manjhi - the man he picked nine months ago to be the chief minister when he resigned after his party's defeat in the Lok Sabha polls -, had earlier this week met President Pranab Mukherjee to convey the support of 130 MLAs.

Kumar, who was accompanied by JD (U) chief Sharad Yadav and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo leader Lalu Prasad Yadav, took the 130 MLAs to the Rashtrapati Bhavan to show that he enjoys majority support in the Bihar Assembly.