Patna, June 11: Chief minister Nitish Kumar today used earthy idioms to ridicule his Gujarat counterpart, Narendra Modi, in response to the latter holding “casteist leaders responsible for the backwardness of the state”.

Modi, addressing a meeting of his party’s state executive at Rajkot (Gujarat) yesterday, had said casteist leaders had destroyed Bihar. Without naming Nitish, the Gujarat ch-ief minister had said: “Bihar had a glorious past but the casteist leaders destroyed it. We will never let Gujarat slip into the vortex of casteism.”

Reacting to Modi’s remarks, Nitish said: “Apni terhar na dekhi, dusre ki phuli nihare (Certain people don’t see the big wounds on their forehead but notice pimples on others face).” He used another popular Hindi phrase to subtly denounce Modi: “Chalni duse sup ko tujh mein kitna chhed hai (Sieve laughs at grain winnower for the holes in its structure).”

In fact, Nitish and Modi are virtually locked in an undeclared war for the national prize since the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. Observers here believe that Modi used the recent turmoil in the state over the killing of Ranvir Sena chief Brahmeshwar Singh “Mukhiya” — a symbol of protracted caste war against the Dalits — to “score a point” over his undeclared rival.

Nitish, however, returned the volley by subtly using the idioms. By saying, “Apni terhar na dekhi…” Nitish, without naming Modi, tried to drive home the point that the Gujarat chief minister suffered from a far bigger blot. A Nitish’s aide explained: “Modi has the big blot of communalism on his face. He should work out ways to get rid of his communal image rather than commenting on others.”

Nitish — currently under fire for particular castemen going on the rampage in the wake of Mukhiya’s killing — made a similar comment when he said: “Chalni duse sup ko…”

A traditional grain winnower cannot have as many holes as a sieve. “How can a sieve, full of holes, question the winnower, which has only a few gaps,” explained the aide, adding: “Nitish has compared Modi with the sieve questioning the winnower.”

Nitish said: “We are not in the habit of commenting on others. Bihar, fighting all its ailments and weaknesses, is on the path of progress.” He, however, maintained silence on the killing of Mukhiya, its violent aftermath and the name of his party legislators figuring in the murder probe.

Nitish admitted that a disease, which had symptoms resembling Japanese encephalitis, is affecting children in Tirhut commissionary and in Gaya and has become a “cause of concern”. He said efforts are under way to control the disease for the past two years.

Nitish added that blood samples of the affected kids were sent to the appropriate laboratories in the past two years. “Experts describe the disease having the symptoms of Japanese encephalitis but the blood test yields negative results. The experts are working hard to find out the real causes,” he said.