Development is 'mukhauta' for BJP: Nitish

New Delhi, Oct 19: The development plank was a "mukhauta" (mask) for the BJP and its real agenda was communalism, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has said.

The Janata Dal-United (JD-U) also told CNN-IBN news channel that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence over the lynching of a Muslim man based on rumours that he ate beef was "dangerous".

"The BJP talks about development but its real agenda is communalism. Development is just a 'mukhauta' (mask), its real face is communal polarization," Nitish Kumar said.

He in fact insisted that the ongoing Bihar assembly elections were being fought on the issue of development.

"The mandate for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections was in favour of Narendra Modi but this election is all about the work that I have done as the chief minister," he said.

"And Bihar (wants) me as its chief minister," he added.

Nitish Kumar slammed Modi for not denouncing the September 28 lynching of a Muslim man in Dadri area in Uttar Pradesh by a mob which alleged that he had killed a cow and consumed beef.

"The prime minister's silence on Dadri incident is dangerous," he said.

Nitish Kumar, a former BJP ally, said the Bharatiya Janata Party was desperate to win the battle for the 243-member Bihar assembly.

"The BJP is so desperate for victory in Bihar that the whole leadership has shifted to Patna."

The staggered Bihar elections will end on November 5. The results will be known three days later.

IANS