Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Sunday took a dig at his Gujarat counterpart Narendra Modi, who has been espousing his model of development as a possible answer to India's ills.
The Janata Dal-United also told a party meeting here that his party's alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) can continue only if "some fundamental issues" were made clear.
In an obvious criticism of Modi, Nitish Kumar said the Indian electorate was intelligent enough to see through speeches.
"The people of this country may not be very educated but they are intelligent," he said.
Nitish Kumar underlined that economic development was taking place everywhere, that Bihar too had its model, and that his state will remain glued to that.
"What kind of development do we want?" he then asked. And in remarks that were clearly aimed at Modi, he said he would not want a development that kept large numbers deprived of drinking water.
But "there is no problem in our alliance in Bihar. We consult each other on all major issues. We respect each other", he said, referring to the BJP and Janata Dal-U which together rule the state.
"We want to go together," he said. "But certain fundamental issues should be made clear."
The chief minister said when the BJP and JD-U alliance was formed, it was made clear that certain divisive issues close to the BJP's heart would have to be set aside.
These included the BJP's demand for scrapping article 370 of the constitution giving special status to Jammu and Kashmir, the demand for a uniform civil code and the call to build a grand Hindu temple at the site of the razed Babri mosque in Ayodhya.
The Janata Dal-United also told a party meeting here that his party's alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) can continue only if "some fundamental issues" were made clear.
In an obvious criticism of Modi, Nitish Kumar said the Indian electorate was intelligent enough to see through speeches.
"The people of this country may not be very educated but they are intelligent," he said.
Nitish Kumar underlined that economic development was taking place everywhere, that Bihar too had its model, and that his state will remain glued to that.
"What kind of development do we want?" he then asked. And in remarks that were clearly aimed at Modi, he said he would not want a development that kept large numbers deprived of drinking water.
But "there is no problem in our alliance in Bihar. We consult each other on all major issues. We respect each other", he said, referring to the BJP and Janata Dal-U which together rule the state.
"We want to go together," he said. "But certain fundamental issues should be made clear."
The chief minister said when the BJP and JD-U alliance was formed, it was made clear that certain divisive issues close to the BJP's heart would have to be set aside.
These included the BJP's demand for scrapping article 370 of the constitution giving special status to Jammu and Kashmir, the demand for a uniform civil code and the call to build a grand Hindu temple at the site of the razed Babri mosque in Ayodhya.