Congress takes dig at BJP-JD(U) `rift`

Congress took potshots at NDA saying that the "rift" between BJP and JD(U) has come to the fore following RJD`s win in Maharajganj Lok Sabha bypoll.

New Delhi: Seeking to fish in troubled waters, Congress on Thursday took potshots at the NDA saying that the "rift" between BJP and JD(U) has come to the fore following RJD`s win in Maharajganj Lok Sabha bypoll in Bihar.

"Rift (between BJP and JDU) was always there. It has now only come to the fore. The reaction of the BJP leaders over the Maharajaganj results showed that they were happier than RJD leaders over Nitish Kumar`s defeat," party spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed told reporters at the AICC. In a tweet yesterday, Ahmed said, "People say that after Karnataka results, the tooth-ache with which Narendra Modi had begun to suffer has lessened a bit today (Karanatka ke results ke baad Modi Ji ke dant me jo dard shuru hua tha, woh aaj kuchh kam hua hai)". A day after the deafeat of JD(U )candidate and a close acolyte of Nitish, P K Shahi, in Lok Sabha bypoll, BJP national general secretary Rajiv Pratap Rudy said in Patna today that the Gujarat Chief Minister was required by his party and ally JD(U) to improve prospects in the general elections in Bihar and elsewhere in the country. His comments came even as Chief Minister Nitish Kumar`s antipathy towards Modi is well-known. Not surprisingly, JD(U) general secretary Shivanand Tewari was quick in his riposte saying, "Rudi ji will be knowing better how much the BJP needs Narendra Modi but JD(U) does not need him." Rumours have been abuzz that the BJP did not participate enthusiastically in the Maharajganj bypoll and contributed to the JDU`s nominee`s defeat after the Bihar Chief Minister`s tirade against Modi. Apparently seeking to drive a wedge in the Opposition alliance, the Congress spokesperson said it was now for the BJP and JD(U) leaders to say what will be the fate of their alliance. PTI