Unfazed by terror strike, Modi tears into Nitish, calls him backstabber
Updated: 5 pm
Patna, Oct 27 (PTI): Unfazed by serial blasts at his rally, Narendra Modi today tore into bete noire Nitish Kumar on his home turf, saying he was an "opportunist" who had "betrayed and backstabbed" Jaiprakash Narayan, Ram Manohar Lohia and also people of Bihar for Prime Ministerial dreams.
Visiting Bihar for the first time from where Chief Minister Nitish Kumar kept him away during the period of their alliance, the BJP Prime Ministerial candidate repeatedly attacked Nitish for snapping of JD(U)-BJP ties in June. He alleged that Nitish was playing hide and seek with Congress, against whom his mentors JP and Lohia fought all their lives, and was dreaming of becoming the Prime Minister.
"One who shunned Jaiprakash, why can't he leave BJP. He fought all his life to free the nation from the Congress and the one who claims to be Lohia's disciple has stabbed him in his back and is now playing hide and seek with Congress. Whether his followers will forgive him or not, the souls of Lohia and JP will never forgive his deeds," Modi said addressing a mammoth public meeting here at the Gandhi Maidan.
Just minutes before he spoke, six serial bomb blasts rocked the venue of the BJP Prime Ministerial candidate's rally, leaving at least five dead and 66 injured. Modi did not refer to the blasts in his speech but appealed to his followers to reach home safety.
Without taking Nitish's name and referring to him derisively as "friend", the Gujarat Chief Minister attacked Nitish for not allowing him to campaign in Bihar in the last assembly polls and said he had accepted the "humiliation" for the sake of not allowing "Jungle Raj" in Bihar again.
Modi vowed to oust JD(U) which had quit NDA opposing his elevation as the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate.
In his over 40-minute speech, Modi started with Bhojpuri and intermittently used Maithli and Magehi - the three main dialects of the state.
Taking a jibe at the Bihar Chief Minister, Modi cited an instance where he and Nitish were sharing a table at a lucheon by the Prime Minister during a meeting of Chief Ministes in Delhi and Nitish was "not eating and was uncomfortable and kept looking around".
"I understood the matter and told him, there are no cameras around. You can have your food....There is a limit to hypocracy," he said.
The Gujarat Chief Minister attacked the Congress saying it was misguiding people in the name of secularism and pitched for Hindu-Muslim unity for the development of the nation, saying neither of them wanted to fight each other and need to together fight poverty instead.
Earlier Update
Five killed, 50 injured in Patna blasts
Patna, Oct 27 (IANS): At least five people were killed and more than 70 injured as seven bombs exploded here Sunday, six of them in and around the ground where BJP star Narendra Modi addressed a rally hours later.
The first of the supposedly low intensity blasts ripped through a toilet at around 10 a.m. at the newly built Platform 10 of the railway station in the heart of the city, killing one person and wounding another.
After an hour, by which time Modi had reached Patna but not the rally ground, four explosions took place inside the Gandhi Maidan, killing four others and causing a lot of panic, police and witnesses said.
The Patna railway station is located two-three kilometres from the Gandhi Maidan.
As smoke billowed at the blast sites, people ran in different directions. Witnesses reported seeing some of the rallyists falling on the ground, bleeding and in pain.
Two more bombs went off just outside the Gandhi Maidan, one near a cinema hall and another close to the Twin Tower building complex. But no one died in these two places.
Bihar's Director General of Police Abhayanand confirmed the five deaths and said all the victims succumbed to their multiple injuries at the Patna Medical College and Hospital.
A doctor at the hospital said eight of the injured were in "very critical condition".
The blasts at the Gandhi Maidan, where Modi later addressed a huge rally of Bharatiya Janata Party supporters, took place even as second rung party leaders were addressing the crowds ahead of Modi's arrival.
Modi's meeting itself passed off peacefully, and the Gujarat chief minister made no reference to the bomb attacks. He, however, asked the BJP activists to disperse peacefully.
Later, Modi said the bomb attacks were "deeply saddening". He appealed for peace and calm.
The bombings triggered alarm bells in New Delhi, where Prime Minister Manmohan Singh telephoned Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and asked him to order a speedy investigation and punish the guilty.
"The prime minister condemns the blasts which occurred at several places in Patna. He appeals to the people to maintain peace and calm," the Prime Minister Office's said on Twitter.
Minister of State for Home R.P.N. Singh said the attacks were "extremely unfortunate" and pledged to "get to the bottom of this".
He said the central government was in touch with the Bihar government, adding that the National Investigation Agency and National Security Guard had been rushed to Patna.
In Bihar, all political parties including the ruling Janata Dal-United and those in the opposition -- Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Congress and Left parties -- condemned the deaths in the explosions.
Senior Superintendent of Police Manu Maharaj said police recovered two live bombs from the railway station, one of which had a timer meant to go off at around 11 a.m.
After the bombings, police appealed to people, particularly those gathered
for the Modi rally, not to touch suspicious objects.
Nitish Kumar cancelled a trip to Munger district and asked the chief secretary and the police chief to submit a report at the earliest.