Friends and foes

There has been no let-up in the verbal duel between Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). After Kumar called for unity among the non-BJP parties to ensure a "Sangh-mukt Bharat [Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-free India]" at a conference in Patna, former deputy chief minister and state finance minister Sushil Kumar Modi accused Kumar of using the "RSS ladder" to further his political career. "He should not forget that he was made a Union minister and a chief minister twice in the previous NDA rule, which was supported by the RSS," Modi said. When the BJP pointed out Kumar's earlier affiliations, the chief minister said, "We have no personal enmity or friendship; we are just against such divisive ideology."