Patna: The Opposition RJD criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's upcoming visit to Motihari on Tuesday, one MLA even saying the land of Mahatma Gandhi will become impure.

The party also criticised chief minister Nitish Kumar, saying Modi's visit was a show-off event from which the state will not gain anything. The Prime Minister will visit Motihari on Tuesday to take part in the concluding ceremony of Champaran Satyagraha's centenary celebrations.

"Narendra Modi belongs to the family of Nathuram Godse, who had killed the Father of the nation," RJD MLA Bhai Birendra said.

"If he comes to Champaran, the land will become impure. Once the land becomes impure, it can only be purified with Ganga jaal."

Birendra said the RSS and the BJP taking the Mahatma's name itself amounts to abusing the people of Bihar and the nation, as they belong to the family of Gandhi ji's killers. In Motihari, Modi will address around 20,000 Swachhagrahis (ambassadors of cleanliness movement) - 10,000 from Bihar and the rest from other states - at Gandhi Maidan.

RJD national vice-president Shivanand Tiwari taunted Nitish saying he had become a master of event management. "For Nitish, it would be a journey from Hey Ram to Jai Sri Ram," Tiwari said. "The chief minister is doing drama in Gandhi's name by organising a series of talks and seminars on Gandhi's philosophy."

Tiwari said Gandhi ji had written in his autobiography that he saw god in Motihari's farmers, but Nitish has not done anything for the East Champaran farmers. Tiwari also called Nitish the most expensive chief minister of India.

The Congress, too, took a critical view of the Prime Minister's visit. "It is a cheap publicity stunt by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to appease the masses. In reality he has not done anything for Mahatma Gandhi," said Umakant Singh, former spokesperson of the Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee and All India Congress Committee.

"I must say he has hijacked all policies of the Congress and is doing nothing new. He has not done anything for Gandhi ji in Gujarat. What he will do in Bihar?" The JDU hit back saying it does not look nice if the RJD and Congress leaders take Gandhiji's name. "They are just doing politics in his name," JDU spokesperson and MLC Sanjay Singh said.