BJP trashes Nitish, Modi competition

The party asserts the media assumption of competition between the two leaders is baseless

BJP today dismissed any competition between Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar for building the tallest statue in the world.

"Some media are comparing the 'Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel' statue being set up in Gujarat with the proposed 'Virat Ramayan Mandir' in Bihar, trying to show competition between Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar, which is baseless," senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi said in a message on Twitter.

"While the building of Ramayan Mandir, which will be the world's tallest temple has nothing to do with Bihar government whereas Patel's statue in Gujarat is the brainchild of Narendra Modi and sponsored by the Gujarat government," he said.

"The Ramayan temple 495 feet high, 2800 feet long is the brainchild of Acharya Kishore Kunal, a retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer," Sushil Modi said.

The unveiling of the model of the proposed temple by Kumar jointly with Shankaracharya of Dwarka, Swaroopanand Saraswati Maharaj here yesterday has set rife speculations in political circles that Nitish was trying to take away Modi's credit for constructing tallest statue in the world.

The temple would be built on 140 acres at Kesaria in East Champaran district of Bihar.

Chairman of Religious Trust Board, Kishore Kunal said the temple be 2,800 feet long, 1400 feet wide and 405 feet high.

The planning of the temple has been done by a leading Gujarati architect and will be built at a cost estimated between Rs 300 crore to Rs 500 crore.