Patna: Seeking to dismiss allegations by Narendra Modi that Bihar has become a haven for terrorists, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday questioned incidents of violence that occurred in Gujarat and other parts of the country.
"Any incident of terrorism is a cause of worry. But if on the basis of one or two incidents Bihar is called a haven of terrorism, what shall we say about several such incidents happening in Gujarat and other parts of the country?" Kumar asked.
"Everybody knows who benefited from the serial blasts at the Patna rally which was a flop... had this unfortunate incident not happened it could not have attracted media coverage," Kumar, who is senior leader of JD(U), claimed.
"Befitting his personality some people see everything through the glass of communalism," he said in a retort to charges levelled by the BJP Prime Ministerial candidate at a rally at Muzaffarpur on Monday.
Kumar said that his government had taken the terrorist attack at the Buddhist temple at Bodh Gaya and at the BJP rally on October 27 last year as a challenge and took all steps to prevent recurrence of such events. "But, playing politics in the name of terrorism when elections are around the corner is a shameless effort," he said.
The Chief Minister was speaking to reporters after a foundation-laying ceremony for a road project.
Attacking LJP chief Ramvilas Paswan for praising Narendra Modi, Kumar asked if he was not the same leader who had introduced himself to then Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf as one who left NDA over the 2002 Godhra riots.
"Paswan needs to tell people the truth about his quitting NDA government, whether it was on the question of change of his ministerial portfolio or the Gujarat riots?" Kumar told reporters.
"A person who missed no chance to criticise Narendra Modi after walking out of NDA is today lavishly praising him," he said. Paswan, who shared the dais with Narendra Modi at a rally at Muzaffarpur yesterday, had described him as 'vikas purush' (development man) and 'future Prime Minister of the country' and criticised Kumar.
Referring to Lalu Prasad, Kumar said there was no caste massacre in the last eight years in Bihar and the crime rate had declined in comparison to earlier times.
