INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Nitish Kumar greeted PM Modi with a rose at the Patna airport
in the middle of a rough patch between the allies over recent communal violence in the state
Sharing the stage with PM Modi, the Bihar chief minister stressed that peace, harmony and respect for every religion were vital for the
country's progress.The Prime Minister, who can't afford to upset another ally in an election year, responded with a compliment instead of a
counter.The two were in Motihari, around 150 kilometres from Patna, to mark the centenary of Mahatma Gandhi's Champaran Satyagraha
They drove down from the airport, where Nitish Kumar greeted PM Modi with a rose."Violence and tension cannot solve anything in our society
Peace, harmony, respect for all religions and castes is needed
The country will move ahead only with love and amity, not tanaav and takraar (tension and clashes)," Nitish Kumar said.PM Modi called Nitish
Kumar a "patient and able administrator" and praised him for the way he was fighting "anti-social elements".In what appeared to be a
reference to Lalu Yadav, Nitish Kumar's former ally jailed for corruption, PM Modi said he would have the centre's "full cooperation in the
fight against corruption."Nitish Kumar ended his coalition with Lalu Yadav last year and resurrected his ties with the BJP, the party he
Navami processions.But in recent weeks, the chief minister has been deeply upset over communal violence that started out from Bhagalpur last
month and then rapidly spread to at least five other districts
Sources say he is worried about more such polarising incidents ahead of the 2019 national election.The incidents have left him facing
condemnation and ridicule from opposition parties who have not forgiven the Bihar veteran for re-embracing the BJP.Nitish Kumar confronted
worse criticism after Arijit Shashwat, a BJP leader accused of inciting violence during Ram Navami processions last month, refused to
The BJP leader, the son of a union minister, was finally arrested after the court, hearing the state's strong opposition, rejected his
request for protection from arrest
Arijit Shashwat was granted bail by a court on Monday.The BJP's trouble with allies in states like Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and
Maharashtra doesn't endanger its rule but hits it hard at a time perception matters
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu recently quit the BJP-led coalition in a row over special status to his state
In the other two states, allies have threatened to end all ties.
