Nitish hits back at Modi, Calls him arrogant

Patna, Mar 13:

Chief Minister

today hit back at Gujarat chief minister

, saying "arrogance is dripping from every inch of his body".

Born in a poor family, I have only self-respect and not arrogance, Kumar maintained. "The style of talking and body posture shows who is arrogant... everybody knows that actually arrogance is dripping from every inch of his body," Kumar said two days after Narendra Modi attacked him at a rally in Purnia calling his arrogance higher than Mt Everest.

The BJP Prime Ministerial candidate had alleged that the JD(U) leader's 'arrogance' and 'ambition' to become Prime Minister had driven him to split from the BJP. "We all have respect for Mt Everest which is the highest peak of Himalaya ... but it cannot be a scale to measure arrogance ... born in a poor family I only have self respect and no arrogance," Kumar told a press conference here.

Stating that he wanted to put the record straight, Kumar said he wanted to respond to 'lies' by Modi yesterday itself but was busy with induction of a woman minister into the cabinet after the resignation of Renu Kushwaha.

Kumar reeled out figures to highlight the 'truth' about development in Gujarat which, he said, the BJP was 'trumpeting' across the country. He laughed at figures given by Narendra Modi from the Sachar committee report to compare the socio-economic condition of Muslims in Bihar and in Gujarat.

Kumar said that these figures pertained to financial year 2004-05 and were based on 2001 census before he assumed power in the state (in November 2005). He said a comparison between a backward and landlocked state like Bihar with a developed coastal state of Gujarat was 'unjustifiable'.

PTI