Nitish said to be miffed at BJP’s bid to appropriate Veer Kunwar Singh’s legacy; attends Tejashwi's iftar

The JDU and the BJP – allies in Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government – have locked horns over the latter’s bid to appropriate the legacy of Veer Kunwar Singh, one of the great heroes of the 1857 revolt, NH has learnt.

Even as Union Home Minister Amit Shah is scheduled to take part in the mega celebration being organized on April 23 to mark the birth anniversary of Kunwar Singh in Jagdishpur in Bhojpur, Nitish Kumar has reportedly distanced himself from the event.

In what is being seen as sign of a rift between the two parties, Nitish Kumar on Thursday decided to attend iftar hosted by RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav in Patna after a gap of five years.

Coincidentally, Lalu Prakash Yadav also got bail in the fodder scam today.

As per JDU sources, the BJP’s plan to organize the mega event, in which over 70000 people are expected to wave the national flag at the venue in one go, made Nitish Kumar unhappy.

BJP Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Thakur has claimed that the event will find its way to the Guinness Book of World Records, whose team, BJP sources contend, has already landed in Bihar.

Currently, the record stands in the name of an event in Pakistan when its national flag was waved by 56618 people gathered at the same spot.

BJP leader and Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai has said that altogether, 75,000 ‘rashtra bhakts’ (patriots) will be waiving flags on the occasion.

As per Bihar watchers, the BJP’s bid to turn the event into a mega show of patriotism has unnerved the JDU which considers itself as the ‘big brother’ in Bihar.

Traditionally, JDU has claimed the legacy of Kunwar Singh, seen as a symbol of Rajput pride in Bihar, and has been celebrating his birth anniversary.

“Though the BJP has projected the event as ‘non-political’, the politics behind it cannot be overlooked,” a senior Patna-based journalist observed. “JDU sees the event as an attempt by the BJP to woo the Rajput community and to expand the saffron footprint in Bihar,” he added.

Opposition party RJD has also attacked the BJP for “usurping the legacy of Veer Kunwar Singh”.

“The great freedom fighters should not be projected as a mascot of nationalism,” RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari has said.

The programme is part of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ being observed across the country to mark the 75th anniversary of the country’s freedom.