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50 lakh people of Bihar to send their DNA for test to PM Modi : Nitish Kumar

by IBNS 10 Aug 2015, 12:20 am

Patna, Aug 10 (IBNS) Escalating the "DNA" issue to the level of afull-blown campaign war before the state Assembly elections, BiharChief Minister Nitish Kumar has said 50 lakh people of the state willsend their samples for testing lineage to Prime Minister NarendraModi.

"In this shabdwapsi (take back your words) campaign, at least 50 lakh
people of Bihar will join a signature campaign and send their samples
to Modiji for a DNA test," Mr Kumar said in a series of tweets on
Monday morning.

The aggressive Bihar Chief Minister took handle of a Modi's comment
made at a Muzaffarpur rally last month where the Prime Minister had
said "there is something wrong with Nitish Kumar's DNA" since he has a
track record of ditching his allies and own men.

The aim of Modi, whose party BJP is set to go whole hog to capture
power in Bihar was obviously to  whip up the feeling of resentment of
Dalits against Nitish Kumar, a former NDA ally, on the issue of his
feud with Jitan Ram Manjhi, who quit Jata Dal (U) with his followers
after being forced to make way for Kumar's return as Chief Minister.

In an open letter to Modi, the  Bihar Chief Minister had demanded that
 PM Modi must take back his comments on a "problem in his DNA".

He said questioning his DNA amounts to questioning the DNA of the
people of Bihar- a counter move that seeks to arouse ethnic sentiment
against Modi or his party using the issue as a plank for election
campaign.

Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad, who has teamed up with the
Janata Dal(U) to resist BJP foray into Bihar, has also castigated the
PM's comment.

Nitish Kumar also announced a "Swabhiman" or self-respect rally on
August 29 with alliance partner Lalu Yadav, to take the "campaign"
forward.

"PM Modi hasn't retracted his derogatory remarks on our DNA, we'll
take the battle to people now," he  tweeted.