Nitish Kumar is suffering from 'NaMonia', claims BJP

BJP hit back today at Bihar Chief Minister's barbs at his Gujarat counterpart Narendra Modi and citing his elevation as the party's poll panel chief to part ways with the NDA saying that Nitish Kumar was down with 'NaMonia'.

"Kumar is suffering from NaMonia and getting bouts of fever at frequent intervals merely at the thought of Modi," BJP national general secretary Rajiv Pratap Rudy told reporters here.

"Why are you (Kumar) so scared of Modi? ... We are really concerned over the deteriorating health of the chief minister due to 'NaMonia' and advise him to see a good doctor," Rudy quipped.

The senior BJP leader also attacked Kumar for his 'new-found love' for Congress and taking its support during the successful trust vote in the assembly yesterday.

Rudy questioned Kumar's secular credentials for 'going gung-ho' after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh lauded him as a secular leader after he parted ways with BJP and asked him to justify the praise which has come from a party which was responsible for the killing of over 5000 Sikhs during the 1984 riots.

"Nitish Kumar says that he did not compromise with his conscience when it came to taking a decision to split from the NDA ... We are of the firm belief that he did make a compromise by aligning with Congress and independents for the sake of power.

Rudy sought to nail the JD(U) leader over the CD showing him praising Modi at an official function in Gujarat in 2003 and exhibiting fondness for the Gujarat Chief Minister on many other occasions.

Modi, he said, has progressed in his career along the forecast made by Kumar.