Modi was unsuccessful in dealing with 2002 Gujarat riots: JD(U)

Zeenews Bureau New Delhi: With JD(U) staying firm in its opposition of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi being made NDA`s Prime Ministerial candidate, party General Secretary KC Tyagi on Saturday said, “JD(U) won’t bend on Modi and also Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is not in PM race.” Tyagi was speaking at the national meet of the JD-U which began on Saturday and will end on Sunday. Affirming its relation with the BJP, Tyagi said, “We have been allies with BJP for a long time but the Bharatiya Janata Party has not followed coalition dharma in Karnataka, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh. “JD(U) is upset with Congress and have also made our stand clear on PM candidate,” Tyagi said. The party General Secretary further added, “The Janata Dal (United) is averse to projecting Modi as the NDA’s prime ministerial candidate. But we will wait till BJP declares its PM candidate and then comment. There is no question of forming government with Congress if situation arises.” While taking a dig on the secular image of Gujarat CM Narendra Modi, Tyagi said, “Modi was not able to tackle Gujarat riots.” However, JD-U, which was scheduled to pass a resolution regarding prime ministerial candidature issue, is reported to have postponed it till tomorrow. It is also being said that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who touched down in the national capital yesterday evening, had a series of meetings with his party president Sharad Yadav. NDA convenor Yadav is reported to have told Nitish not to go hard over the issue as a harsh resolution would harm ties with the BJP. Some reports also claimed that the JD-U will wait until November 2013. Meanwhile, it the two-day national meet of the JD-U it was being reported that the party was likely to make a strong demand for the early projection of the next prime ministerial candidate of the alliance and reassert its commitment to secularism ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. However, JD-U leader Shivanand Tiwari today dismissed speculation of them deciding on the structure of their 2014 Lok Sabha polls saying, "It is a routine meeting and has nothing to do with the 2014 Lok Sabha polls." He further said, "We will also discuss the present scenario of the party. Members are going to put forward their views and opinions and it is a routine meeting." Speaking on BJP plan of action, he said, "Whatever, BJP president Rajnath Singh has told is absolutely true, we share a long and old association with the BJP, hence they know our principles and our motive and there is nothing wrong in that. When he had joined BJP the state of BJP was delicate hence we decided to form a common agenda.” Talking on the prime ministerial candidate name revelation he said, "Nitish Kumar has made it very clear and we stand by it that the Prime Ministerial candidate should be mentioned as early as possible. He has also said the candidate should be from BJP as it is a big party." There has been unease in JD-U over Modi and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who runs a coalition government with BJP, has been a known critic of Modi. A sizeable section in JD-U believes that parting of ways with BJP will be unavoidable if Modi is projected a prime ministerial candidate in Lok Sabha polls.