Bihar CM Nitish Kumar tries to touch PM Modi’s feet on stage; third attempt this year

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday made yet another attempt to touch Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s feet while greeting him. Modi, however, stopped him and shook hands instead.

The prime minister was in Bihar’s Darbhanga district to lay the foundation for the state’s second All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). Bihar already has an AIIMS in Patna. Modi also inaugurated a 10-km Darbhanga bypass railway line.

He praised Nitish for his good governance and ending the ‘jungle raj’.

“It is due to the vision and leadership of Nitish ji that Bihar has been put on the fast track of development and good governance,” Modi said.

This was the third time this year that Nitish attempted to touch Modi’s feet and seek his blessings, rather than following the protocol of a state’s CM shaking hands with the PM.

In April, during the Lok Sabha electioneering, Nitish nearly touched Modi’s feet while he was on the dais canvassing for the NDA nominees. Again, in June, during a meeting of NDA alliance partners in the Central Hall of Parliament in New Delhi, the JD(U) chief tried to touch Modi’s feet. The embarrassing move fuelled rumours that he was suffering from a mental health issue, a charge his office refuted.

However, the PM was all praise for Nitish on Wednesday. “No praise is too high for him for putting an end to jungle raj. Now, under the double engine government, Bihar has made rapid strides in terms of development,” he said.