Stop lying, Nitish tells Modi

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Monday accused BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi of lying left and right in his pursuit for power and asked him to stop telling lies.

Nitish Kumar told the media that Modi spoke falsehood when he complained about security lapses at his Patna rally and lied further when he said that Nitish Kumar was "enjoying" at Rajgir when the bombs went off.

Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders are lying to grab power at any cost, he said.

Nitish Kumar refuted allegations that there were security lapses at the BJP's Oct 27 rally in Patna's Gandhi Maidan where a string of bomb blasts left seven people dead.

"BJP leaders are lying. There was adequate security for the rally. A large number of security personnel were deployed for the rally," he said after his weekly Janata Darbar.

The Bihar chief minister rubbished Modi's claim that he (Nitish Kumar) was "enjoying" at Rajgir when the serial blasts took place in Patna.

"I was present in Patna the day the blasts occurred. Soon after the blasts, I cancelled all my programmes and held a high-level meeting with top officials.

"On the evening of Oct 27, I addressed a press conference here in Patna, and at night visited those injured in the blasts at the Patna Medical College and Hospital."

Nitish Kumar asked BJP leaders to explain if Modi visited victims of the 2008 bombings in Ahmedabad or the victims of the communal riots of 2002.

Nitish Kumar dubbed the Modi rally in Patna a "big flop" as BJP leaders had boasted it would be the biggest ever political rally in the Bihar capital.

"Half the ground was empty. It were terrorists who helped the Modi rally to hit the headlines."

Nitish Kumar said the time had come for the BJP's prime ministerial candidate to explain his foreign, economic and social policies instead of lying about history and politics.

Last week, at a public meeting in Chhattisgarh, Modi described Nitish Kumar an arrogant man.

He also raised questions over the Bihar chief minister's refusal to order a probe to ascertain if negligence led to the serial blasts at the Patna rally.