Nitish must say whether he wants Modi as PM or not: Lalu

With top BJP leaders declaring Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi fit for prime minister's post, Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Prasad on Monday asked Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to clarify his stand on the issue.

"Several senior BJP leaders have now gone public to stamp their approval for Modi's projection as the party's prime ministerial candidate. Now the onus is on Kumar to take the bait and announce his future course of action as he had promised earlier," he told reporters ahead of the public meeting during Parivartan Yatra to Madhepura district.

"Nitish must tell which ever way he will go when it has become clear that BJP is all set to project its 'communal' face (Modi) as its prime ministerial candidate," Prasad said.

The RJD supremo reminded the Chief Minister of his earlier statement that BJP should announce its prime ministerial candidate ahead of the next general elections, but the saffron party has apparently surprised Kumar by virtually declaring Modi as the PM candidate too soon, and asked to respond to his earlier commitment on the issue.

Prasad also slammed the NDA government in Bihar for failure on all fronts and claimed that the people were disgusted with them and inching to throw the ruling coalition out of power.