Senior JD(U) leader Shivanand Tiwari today created flutters by repeatedly praising Narendra Modi at a party convention here, which was not taken well by workers, whereupon he directed his ire against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for allegedly slighting him.
"It's a great achievement for a person to reach this position from a humble background of selling tea and being born in a humble family. He (Modi) is a strong man," Tiwari, JD(U) leader in Rajya Sabha, told the two-day party convention here in Nalanda district.
"It's important to know about the person to fight against him. Since he is a strong man, there is reason to fear him," Tiwari said, adding that a challenge had been posed to the country which needed to be fought strongly.
"Earlier, A B Vajpayee was also backed by RSS like Narendra Modi. But after becoming PM, Vajpayee kept them at a distance, but this man even before getting a chance, is behaving at the behest of the RSS," he said.
Irked by his frequent reference to Modi, some party workers rose and protested, at which Tiwari got angry.
Turning to JD(U) President Sharad Yadav and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, he snapped, "Why are party workers being encouraged against me?"
Tiwari singled out the chief minister and asked him why he was slighting him in the party. He said Kumar needs to "have a large heart to assume top post (of PM)" and that he should have a team of able persons instead of patronising sycophants.
