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Escalating attack on Nitish Kumar, Narendra Modi today said his "ambition" to become Prime Minister drove him to split from BJP and accused him of possessing Himalayan arrogance that made him spurn flood aid from Gujarat.
"Why was the BJP-JD(U) alliance broken? Some said it was his (Kumar) habit to stab in the back. We came to know of it four days back. The dream to become PM was not letting him sleep. His arrogance is higher than Mt Everest. He says nobody is as good a PM candidate as him," Modi told an election rally, his third in Bihar and second in a week, at the Rangabhumi maidan here.
Modi was referring to comments from Kumar last week that he had more experience and was qualified than those "roaming around" for the PM's post.
The BJP's PM candidate said if he wins election, his government would give special package for Bihar, sought by Nitish Kumar, and anything else for the welfare.
However, in a dig at Kumar who had returned a Rs 5-crore aid offered by Gujarat for flood relief in Bihar in 2010 after Modi advertised it in newspapers, Modi said Kumar should first announce that he will not refuse any package offered to Bihar by the Centre if BJP is voted to power.
"He had such arrogance that he virtually spat on the face of people of Gujarat by returning the money. Such leaders should announce that they would not kick back Centre's offer and deny people their right due to his conceit. They must apologise for what they have done," he said without naming the JD(U) leader.
Tearing into Kumar's claim of good law and order and development work, he said, "The state government has failed to check the spiralling crime graph, cases of terrorism and naxal violence due to vote bank politics."
Modi, who devoted a major part of his hour long speech lashing out at Bihar Chief Minister on his home turf, quoted from Sachar Committee's report to highlight the better socio- economic conditions of Muslims in Gujarat than Bihar and claimed that he practiced "true" secularism in his state.
