Nitish: Modi cannot become PM

Patna: BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi will never become the prime minister of India, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar asserted Tuesday.

Launching a bitter attack on Modi, two days after he hit out at Nitish Kumar here, the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader also blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the collapse of the BJP-JD-U alliance in June.

In his concluding speech at a two-day JD-U convention that began Monday, Nitish Kumar made fun of his Gujarat counterpart but without taking Modi's name.

Describing Modi as "the man who came here two days ago", Nitish Kumar said his dream of becoming the prime minister will remain a dream.

He compared the "dream" with what he described as "BJP's hype" over Modi. "This 'hava' (wind) is not natural. It has been produced by a blower."

In any case, Nitish Kumar went on, anyone aspiring to become the prime minister of a country like India should learn to be patient -- and sober.

"The way he was wiping his sweat and drinking huge quantities of water" while addressing a BJP rally here Sunday showed he was "waiting to attack me", the Bihar chief minister said.

Nitish Kumar said it was not he who ended the 17-year-long alliance with the BJP but it was the latter which created conditions that led to the bitter divorce.

"It is the BJP which is responsible for the split," he said.

Nitish Kumar said that while Gujaratis were known for their love for sweets, there was nothing "sweet" about the way Modi makes his points.