Bihar minister plans to invite Modi for campaign

PATNA - A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) minister in Bihar’s Nitish Kumar-led government plans to invite Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for campaigning in his constituency if he contests in the upcoming assembly elections.

Ten days after Bihar’s ruling Janata Dal-United’s (JD-U) president Sharad Yadav said no to Narendra Modi campaigning in the state for the assembly elections, Bihar Cooperative Minister Giriraj Singh, a vocal supporter of Hindutva, told reporters Wednesday he would invite Modi.

“I will certainly invite Narendra Modi for campaigning in my constituency if I contest the elections,” Giriraj Singh, clad in his usual saffron kurta with a big tikka on his forehead, said.

Giriraj Singh, who is currently a member of the legislative council and plans to contest the assembly elections, said he failed to understand why there was a hue and cry over Modi’s likely campaign in Bihar.

“Narendra Modi is not a terrorist. He is a respected national leader of the BJP,” he said.

Modi had not campaigned for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar in any election after the Godhra riots of 2002.

JD(U), which has been consistently making attempts to woo Muslim voters in the state, strongly opposed Modi’s coming to Bihar for even the Lok Sabha election campaign in 2009.

In June, Giriraj Singh had openly questioned Nitish Kumar’s decision to return the money given by Gujarat in 2008 for flood relief.

Differences between Nitish Kumar and the BJP began June 12 when he expressed displeasure over newspaper advertisements featuring him and Narendra Modi. An angry Nitish Kumar cancelled a dinner for BJP leaders attending its National Executive meeting here.