India won't tolerate a divisive leader: Nitish on Modi

The country will not tolerate a "divisive" leader, said Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Saturday, a day after BJP anointed Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial candidate.

He said his party had sensed the development and thus ended its ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"People of the country will not tolerate or accept a leader, whose idea and policy is divisive," Nitish Kumar told media persons here.

He described BJP's decision to announce Modi as its prime ministerial candidate as "Vinash kale vipreet buddhi (When we face difficult times, our thinking gets warped)".

"We had sensed it three months ago that BJP will name him its PM candidate and ended our (party Janata Dal-United's) alliance with BJP," Nitish Kumar said.

He said that there may be jubilation within BJP but not outside it and the common people are fed up with such celebrations.

The BJP is trying to create an environment in favour of its leader but the party would never succeed, he contended.

The JD-U snapped ties with BJP in Bihar June 16 this year after Modi was made BJP's campaign chief for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Nitish Kumar blamed the BJP for working against opposition unity when it was most needed.

It was the right time to unite opposition parties against the Congress led United Progressive Alliance government on issues like price rise and corruption, but the BJP is working on its own agenda, he said.

Senior BJP leader and former minister Griraj Singh strongly reacted against Nitish Kumar by saying that time will prove him wrong. - IANS