Nitish Kumar lauds Narendra Modi for “very quick” response

New Delhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today came in for fulsome praise from unlikely quarters- Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who lauded and thanked him for Centre’s “very quick” response in the wake of the killer storm that battered the state claiming 55 lives.

“I want to thank the honourable Prime Minister and the honourable Home Minister for their assurance to provide help to disaster-hit Bihar.

“Central government’s response was very quick. We are thankful to them,” Kumar, who has had a rocky relationship with Modi, said in presence of Home Minister Rajnath Singh after conducting an aerial survey of nor’wester-hit areas.

Kumar said soon after the disaster hit several north Bihar districts on Tuesday night, the Home Minister had telephoned him the next morning, while the Prime Minister called up in the evening and the Finance Minister a day later.

“All of them assured us that the central government will provide help to the state government to deal with the situation. We are thankful to them,” he said.

BJP ministers at the Centre from Bihar Ravi Shankar Prasad and Radha Mohan Singh, who were part of the ministerial team despatched to the state to take stock of the situation, besides former Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi were present when Kumar showered praise on the Prime Minister.

The bonhomie was in evidence when they lunched together sharing the same table.

Kumar has had a turbulent relationship with Modi for long and had prevented him from campaigning for BJP in Bihar when his party JD(U) was a part of the NDA, apprehending an adverse fallout for the alliance following the Gujarat riots.

JD(U) had walked out of the NDA in June 2013 after Modi was anointed BJP’s campaign committee chief for Lok Sabha polls.

– PTI