Nitish ribs Rambo, BJP says better than ‘dumbo, scambo

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and Union finance minister P Chidambaram on Monday attacked Gujarat CM Narendra Modi over his ‘rescue efforts’ in Uttarakhand.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and Union finance minister P Chidambaram on Monday attacked Gujarat CM Narendra Modi over his ‘rescue efforts’ in Uttarakhand.

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Days after splitting with the BJP over Modi’s elevation as the saffron party’s campaign committee chief, Kumar took a dig at him over reports claiming he rescued 15,000 Gujaratis from the flood-ravaged state.

“I am no Rambo. But my government and I have done everything to help the people from Bihar who are stranded,” he said in a veiled reference to Modi’s exaggerated role, termed a ‘Rambo act’ by many, in the rescue efforts. He was also responding to allegations from the BJP that he did not take timely action to rescue Bihari pilgrims.

BJP’s Meenakshi Lekhi hit back, saying, “People who have failed in administration can derisively use the word ‘Rambo’. But it is better to be a Rambo than to be a Dumbo or Scam-bo.”

Chidambaram termed Modi’s rescue act “myth-making”. “If allowed, his managers would have claimed he rescued 1.5 lakh,” he said, adding that Modi’s handlers had confused transporting people with rescuing them.