Reacting sharply to the twin murders of the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders in Bihar, senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi on Saturday said Nitish Kumar has become a "bechara" (helpless) chief minister, who has lost control over the state government.
"The murder of Visheshwar Ojha, senior BJP leader and Bihar unit vice president, is a political conspiracy. The accused worked for the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) during the assembly polls. As long as Ojha and his sister-in-law (younger brother's wife) were MLAs, nobody dared to touch him, but after he lost the last assembly election and the RJD returned to power, the accused became fearless and perpetrated the crime," said Modi.
"The people of the state have lost their confidence in this government. We were hopeful that the government would be able to at least tackle crimes and would establish law and order situation in the state, but the government has fallen flat on people's expectations. Nitish Kumar has become a bechara (helpless) chief minister - an ineffective chief minister, who has lost control over the government and to whom nobody listens to or follows," he said.
"It's not just about the murder of two leaders, as more than 600 murders have been committed in Bihar in the past two-and-a-half years. And, the way the murders are taking place, nobody is feeling safe in the state," said Modi.
"Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is holding meetings one after another, but in vain. Since Nitish Kumar entered into an alliance with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the morale of criminals is high," he said.
Ojha, 45, was shot dead in Bhojpur district in central Bihar on Friday evening while returning from a wedding party in his SUV. Another senior leader Kedar Singh was killed in Chappra district.
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Modi said, "There were cases against Visheshwar Ojha, but he was not convicted. There were some disputes over land dating before 2000, but the state government is purposely portraying it in a wrong way."
"The chief minister had said if an incident like murder took place, they would act against the SP (Superintendent of Police) and D.M. (District Magistrate) concerned. Has he acted against any SP or DM (in 600 cases of murder)? He has been repeating his old promises, such as installing CCTV cameras, time and again, but is unable to control crimes," he added.