BJP minister cautions Nitish against targeting Modi

Hours after Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar made a veiled attack against Gujarat chief minister, a BJP minister in the NDA government here cautioned Kumar and his party against targeting Narendra Modi.

Hours after Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar made a veiled attack against Gujarat chief minister, a BJP minister in the NDA government here cautioned Kumar and his party against targeting Narendra Modi.

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"It is not fair to see Modi in isolation from the BJP. The party must be seen in its totality for being secular or communal," animal husbandry and fisheries minister Giriraj Singh told reporters while reacting to Kumar's speech at the JD(U) national council in Delhi.

"BJP is the most secular party in the country and so too is Gujarat chief minister. BJP has remained the same all these years from 1992-93 to 2012-13 and pursued consistent ideology," Singh said.

Modi had catered to the aspirations of all his constituents irrespective of their religion and created ground where all including Muslims could prosper, he said.

Modi's detractors should try to find out without bias as to how the Muslims had been doing in government services and private business in Gujarat before casting aspersion on him, the minister said.

To a question whether Kumar's jibes at Modi have dampened the latter's prospects as BJP's prime ministerial candidate, Singh said the party's Parliamentary Board would decide the matter at an appropriate time.