’Take Back Your Comments,’ Nitish Kumar tells PM Narendra Modi on ’DNA’ Barb

Mangalore Today News Network

Patna, Aug 05, 2015:  Nitish Kumar has written an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make a strong objection to his comment about the Bihar Chief Minister’s "DNA" at a recent election rally in the state.

He has taken the battle to the PM’s turf, releasing the letter this morning on Twitter, the social media site that he joined only recently and where PM Modi is the third most followed leader in the world.

PM Modi had said at a rally in Bihar last month that Nitish Kumar "not only disrespected me but also disrespected a Mahadalit like Jitan Ram Manjhi... There seems to be some problem in his DNA because the DNA of democracy is not like that. In democracy, you give respect even to your political rivals."

Mr Kumar had shot back then, "The Prime Minister said there is a problem in my DNA. I’m a son of Bihar, so it is the same DNA as the people of Bihar... I leave it to the people of Bihar how they judge a person who maligns their DNA."

The Bihar Chief Minister is expected feature the "insult to Bihar" as a key part of his election campaign as he leads an alliance of his Janata Dal (United), Lalu Prasad’s RJD and the Congress into pitched battle against the BJP in the assembly elections, due by October this year.

Nitish Kumar’s campaign team for the Bihar elections says the PM’s "DNA" comment is their "chaiwallaf" moment, a reference to how Mr Modi turned what was meant to be an insult by Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar into one of his most successful campaigns for the national election that he swept last year.

Mr Kumar’s chief campaign strategist is Prashant Kishore, who is credited with designing PM Modi’s famous "Chai pe Charcha" campaign, an outreach programme that celebrated his journey from a young seller of tea on trains to the front-runner for the country’s top job, which he took over a few months later.

 

Courtesy: NDTV