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Two days after his "snake-sandalwood" tweet ruffled the feathers of ally RJD, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar rushed to RJD President Lalu Prasad's house late last night apparently to clear the air.
The meeting is described by the sources from both sides as a peace-keeping mission. Once foes, Kumar and Prasad joined hands last year to stem the rise of BJP in Bihar. The alliance has, so far, been a fractious one as both sides do not fully trust each-other. Earlier, Prasad opposed Kumar's selection for the alliance CM candidate, but later accepted it under Congress's pressure.
On Tuesday, Kumar tweeted a couplet by Kabir on response of a question about how he intend to develop the state with Prasad by his side. In his response the Chief Minister compared himself to sandalwood tree, which cannot be corrupted by venom even if snakes wrapped themselves around its trunk. Within hours, the tweet interpreted as an attack on the RJD.
ALSO READ: Bihar assembly elections: Nitish, Lalu find new ways to woo voters
Kumar drove to Prasad's 10 Circular road residence in Patna around 10 PM without any security cover and remained closeted with Prasad for nearly an hour. Kumar lives in the 7 Circular Road bungalow, a stone's throw away from Prasad's residence. Photographers captured Prasad, attired in his night dress, and Kumar coming together outside the house. At first the duo were surprised but they quickly posed for shutterbugs holding each others' hands to signal unity. Prasad was asked if there was any confusion by Kumar's tweet comparing himself to "chandan" (sandalwood), which remains unaffected despite snakes wrapping themselves around which was interpreted as a barely veiled barb directed towards Prasad. The Chief Minister's tweet in response to a question created a flutter in Bihar as it was seen directed against his ally RJD chief Lalu Prasad.
ALSO READ: Nitish accuses BJP of fomenting 'communal tension' in Bihar
Kumar, later, clarified his comment was for BJP which despite having "venomous thoughts" could not divert him from path of development of Bihar during seven-and-a-half year of NDA-JD(U) rule in the state.
The RJD President told reporters since there was no confusion there was no question of sorting it out. "Earlier BJP used to say there was no chance of us coming together and now since this has happened they are trying to instigate trouble by making baseless allegations," the RJD chief said. "We talked about the strategy for upcoming Bihar elections," he added.
The meeting is described by the sources from both sides as a peace-keeping mission. Once foes, Kumar and Prasad joined hands last year to stem the rise of BJP in Bihar. The alliance has, so far, been a fractious one as both sides do not fully trust each-other. Earlier, Prasad opposed Kumar's selection for the alliance CM candidate, but later accepted it under Congress's pressure.
On Tuesday, Kumar tweeted a couplet by Kabir on response of a question about how he intend to develop the state with Prasad by his side. In his response the Chief Minister compared himself to sandalwood tree, which cannot be corrupted by venom even if snakes wrapped themselves around its trunk. Within hours, the tweet interpreted as an attack on the RJD.
ALSO READ: Bihar assembly elections: Nitish, Lalu find new ways to woo voters
Kumar drove to Prasad's 10 Circular road residence in Patna around 10 PM without any security cover and remained closeted with Prasad for nearly an hour. Kumar lives in the 7 Circular Road bungalow, a stone's throw away from Prasad's residence. Photographers captured Prasad, attired in his night dress, and Kumar coming together outside the house. At first the duo were surprised but they quickly posed for shutterbugs holding each others' hands to signal unity. Prasad was asked if there was any confusion by Kumar's tweet comparing himself to "chandan" (sandalwood), which remains unaffected despite snakes wrapping themselves around which was interpreted as a barely veiled barb directed towards Prasad. The Chief Minister's tweet in response to a question created a flutter in Bihar as it was seen directed against his ally RJD chief Lalu Prasad.
ALSO READ: Nitish accuses BJP of fomenting 'communal tension' in Bihar
Kumar, later, clarified his comment was for BJP which despite having "venomous thoughts" could not divert him from path of development of Bihar during seven-and-a-half year of NDA-JD(U) rule in the state.
The RJD President told reporters since there was no confusion there was no question of sorting it out. "Earlier BJP used to say there was no chance of us coming together and now since this has happened they are trying to instigate trouble by making baseless allegations," the RJD chief said. "We talked about the strategy for upcoming Bihar elections," he added.
On being pressed further about what transpired at the meeting, Kumar said "chaliye ho gaya (lets move ahead, it's over now)", seeking to play down the controversy.
