Nitish Kumar at the news meet in Patna on Monday. Picture by Deepak Kumar

Patna, July 9: Nitish Kumar today stood his ground on the issue of “secularism”, refusing to be dragged into the controversy over BJP leader L.K. Advani defending Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and the change of leadership in Karnataka.

On Advani’s remark that “Modi has been systematically and viciously maligned”, the Bihar chief minister said: “I have already explained the stand of my party (JD-U) on the issue of secularism and I stand by it.”

Nitish had recently said the NDA should have declared its prime ministerial candidate enjoying secular credentials ahead of the 2010 elections. The statement had fuelled a verbal war between BJP and JD(U) leaders. “I have never mentioned the name of any leader. We always talk in terms of issues and not individuals,” Nitish clarified.

He, however, refused to react on the change of leadership in Karnataka. “These are internal matters of a party on which I have hardly anything to say.”

Replying to reporters’ query at the weekly janata darbar at his 1 Aney Marg house, Nitish reiterated his request to Pranab Mukherjee to make Bihar his first destination after occupying the Rashtrapati Bhavan. “Bihar is the birthplace of the first President (Rajendra Prasad) and as such Pranabda must visit the state first,” he said.

Nitish also clarified that his party had not taken any decision on the candidate/candidates in the race for the vice-president’s post. Reacting to Lalu’s support to Hamid Ansari as the next vice-president, he said: “He (Lalu) has fallen in the eyes of the people. It is difficult for him win back the people’s trust, no matter what he does.”

The chief minister said his government had determined the Twelfth Five-Year Plan size for the state in February itself. “The government got the full budget worth Rs 28,000 crore passed in the legislature, which accounts for only 26 per cent of the central assistance.”