BJP's Sushil Kumar Modi assails Nitish Kumar for 'twisting' Vijay Goel's remarks

A day after JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar condemned BJP MP Vijay Goel for his alleged 'anti-Bihari' remarks, BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi on Sunday charged the former Chief Minister with twisting the comments with an eye on Assembly bypoll in Bihar.

"Nitish is needlessly trying to twist Goel's remarks to rake up a controversy for votes in the bypoll to ten Assembly seats in Bihar to be held later this month," the former deputy chief minister said in a statement.

Modi said that Kumar should remember that the voters of Delhi had rejected his politics last year during the Assembly polls and the JD(U) got so disheartened with its performance that it did not put up a candidate on any of seven Lok Sabha seats in the national capital during the last general elections.

Modi said that all Indians, including those from Bihar, had every right to visit any part of the country, including Delhi, for studies, employment and settlement. He said BJP, being a national party, did not approve of regional chauvinism and would protect the Biharis if they faced discrimination anywhere in the country.

Kumar had yesterday castigated the BJP MP for his alleged "anti-Bihari" diatribe and asked BJP to clarify its stand. Goel, during a debate in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday last, had pitched for putting a stop on migration from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh to reduce pressure on infrastructure and civil amenities in Delhi and suggested development of those states from where the migrants would come to the national capital.