Patna, Aug 16 (IANS): Slamming Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for drawing comparison between former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi on Wednesday said JD(U) chief makes such statements to create a wedge and divide the saffron party.

"Nitish admire Atal Ji and Advani Ji on one hand and criticise Narendra Modi on the other hand. I want to tell him that Narendra Modi is taking forward the political legacy of Atal Ji. If Nitish Kumar supports Atal Ji, he has to support Narendra Modi as well. Atal Ji and Modi Ji are no different," Modi said.

"Nitish always tries to make a picture of Atal Ji versus Narendra Modi or Advani Ji versus Narendra Modi. When he admires Atal Ji or Advani Ji, his intention is not to respect them but to create a divide in the party. When Advani Ji was the PM face of NDA, Nitish Kumar was the one who objected to him the most. Now, he is turning out to be his biggest supporter. Whatever Nitish achieved in his life is because of Atal Ji and Advani Ji," the BJP leader said.

"Nitish Kumar's work place is Bihar but several leaders of JD(U) and its alliance partners like Upendra Kushwaha, RCP Singh, Jitan Ram Manjhi left him within one year of Mahagathbandhan government," he said.