Nitish Kumar seeks to dismiss 'wave' in favour of Narendra Modi

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today sought to dismiss the so-called wave claimed by BJP in favour of its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi saying "there is nothing like this".

"A blower has been turned on by some people and you think it is natural air. There is nothing like this," he said in an apparent dig at Modi.

He also termed Muzaffarnagar riots a "blot" on the country like Gujarat and Bhagalpur riots in the past and said the situation should not have been allowed to deteriorate to the extent it did.

Constant vigilance and quick response time are key to defusing any communal flare up, the JD(U) leader said and cited the example of his state where district magistrates and superintendents of police are duty-bound to go to the spot and resolve any incidence with potential of religious tension.

"I met European Union Ambassador over lunch today. Somebody asked me what I would have done (in case of communal tension). I said there is no alternative to round the clock vigil... You have to earn everybody's confidence. It's not about words but action," he said.

He was delivering the sixth annual lecture of National Commission for Minorities on the "Idea of India", becoming the first chief minister to deliver an address at NCM's annual day.

"Unity in diversity is our foundation. Anything that confronts is against the idea of India," he said.

In a country as diverse as ours, symbols must be respected, he said, adding that sometime one has to wear a cap and sometime one needs to sport a tilak.

The Constitution gave everybody equal rights and if so many years after independence some people still feel marginalised and insecure, then there can not be a worse news than this, he said.

Kumar also pitched for special policies to help Muslims and other underdeveloped communities.

"Saying that opportunities are equal for everybody is wrong. You can't ask a malnourished person to compete with a healthy man and say both have equal chance... You have to give incentive to the marginalised so that they can compete with others," he said, arguing for schemes targeting Muslims.

He said he believes in inclusive growth and a growth which does not help citizens is meaningless.

"What good a high GDP growth is if your people are not prospering," he asked.

"You have to take everybody along and do justice to all of them. People should have faith in you. This is the idea of India," he said.

Going back to Bhagalpur riots in 1989 which left hundreds of people, mostly Muslims, dead, he said he reopened the cases after coming to power in 2005 and ensured that the guilty were punished and the victims compensated.

Minority Affairs Minister K Rehman Khan said there could not have been a better person than Kumar to deliver the lecture on the "Idea of India".

A former ally of BJP, Kumar is said to have come closer to ruling Congress since his party split from NDA.

NCM Chairman Wajahat Habibullah said Muzaffarnagar riots were an example of what could happen when the unity of different communities was allowed to be attacked.

He said diversity was India's beauty and its biggest strength.