Nitish Kumar speaks of 'friendship' with BJP leader, ally plays down remark

Motihari (Bihar) [India], October 19 : Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday while pointing towards a BJP leader from the stage said "All the people we have here, are our friends. You will remain connected to me as long as I live."
Nitish was speaking at the convocation ceremony of Mahatma Gandhi Central University in Motihari.
"All the people we have here are our friends. We are different, you are different, does it mean our friendship will end? You will remain connected to me as long as I live. We will all work together. President, we are very happy that you are here. We would like you to keep coming here. We will show you the entire Champaran once, the land of Mahatma Gandhi," Nitish Kumar said.
The RJD, an ally of Nitish Kumar, however played down the comments saying the Bihar Chief Minister was speaking of his personal relationships.
"Radha Mohan Singh (of BJP) was sitting in front, so he spoke about his personal relationship. There is no mention of any party. People interpreted him incorrectly" said RJD's Shakti Yadav.
The BJP also distanced itself from the comments and said it has no connection any more with Nitish Kumar.
"Nitish Kumar has left, we have asked him to leave. BJP clearly believes that we are together in development but there is a fight on principles. Amit Shah has said that he has no connection with Nitish Kumar" said Saket Choudhary the state BJP chief.
President Droupadi Murmu and Governor Rajendra Vishwanath were also present on the stage. Today is the second day of President Murmu's visit to Bihar.
President Droupadi Murmu had on Wednesday inaugurated the state's fourth agriculture road map aimed at enhancing agriculture production in Patna. In her address, she stated that agriculture is an important part of the folk culture of Bihar and the basis of its economy.
While launching the Krishi road map President Murmu said that farmers of Bihar are known for adopting new experiments in farming noting that a Nobel laureate economist had called the farmers of Nalanda "greater than scientists".
"As a result of the implementation of the last three agricultural road maps, the productivity of paddy, wheat and maize in the state has almost doubled. Bihar has also become a leading state in the production of mushrooms, honey, makhana (fox nuts) and fish. The launch of the fourth Agriculture Road Map is an important step towards taking this effort forward," President Murmu said.
The President urged farmers of Bihar to take advantage of the rising demand for organic products.