On Tuesday Kumar evaded queries about the raging controversy and muttered: “sab theek hai” (all is well) while hurrying past the group of journalists
Patna: On Wednesday Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi said that let bygones be bygones hoping that the New Year, “bitterness, ill-will and mistrust” caused by his recent exchange with Prashant Kishor will fade away ahead of the Assembly elections in the state.
The senior BJP leader was receiving guests at his house on the occasion of New Year, also hoped that the people of the Bihar will vote for the NDA in Assembly polls with the same enthusiasm as was evident in the Lok Sabha elections wherein the coalition won 39 out of 40 seats.
“May the New Year bring peace and prosperity to the people of Bihar who give their blessings to NDA just like they had done in the Lok Sabha elections last year”, Sushil Modi said when questioned by journalists what message he would like to give on the day.
Edged by a large number of the cabinet and party colleagues, supporters and officials, Sushil Modi who returned from a day-long vacation at Chennai where one of his sons lives celebrated the New Year by cutting a lavish cake with an icing that read “2020”. Elections are due in Bihar later this year.
Questioned about the bitterness in the wake of his veiled attack on Kishor and the latter’s strongly-worded riposte to the same, Sushil Modi said, ‘jo baat beet gayee so beet gayee’ (let bygones be bygones)’.
He also wishes that ‘katuta’ (bitterness), ‘dwesh’ (ill-will) and ‘avishwas’ (mistrust)” in the NDA camp would fade away.
Particularly, the political situation in Bihar had changed in the last few days after Kishor, during interviews, contended that the JD(U) must contest on more number of seats in assembly elections than the BJP.
On Monday, Sushil Modi launched a veiled attack on Prashant Kishor without mentioning him by name making snide comments on Twitter about his businesses as a professional electoral strategist and accusing him of violating coalition dharma and benefiting the opposition.
Prashant Kishor hit back on Tuesday Twitted, mentioning the Deputy CM by name, that he was bewildered to hear about coalition dharma from the BJP leader who owed his position to “circumstances”, mentioning the saffron party had lost the assembly elections of 2015 but achieving power after two years on account of a volte-face by Nitish Kumar.
Kishor’s attack on Sushil Modi left the BJP fuming and the party’s leaders cutting across factions inveighed against the JD(U) national vice president even as the chief minister’s party likely to avoid getting drawn into the controversy.
On Monday, he had also drawn criticism from JD(U) heavyweight RCP Singh who questioned the “untimely” utterances on seat-sharing.
On Tuesday Kumar evaded queries about the raging controversy and muttered: “sab theek hai” (all is well) while hurrying past the group of journalists.
After receiving guests at his home, Modi also visited the Chief Minister who lives next door and the two exchanged New Year greetings. Kumar said the Deputy CM that he was pleasantly surprised to see the latter on the day as he had expected Modi to be away in Chennai for a while.
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