Patna, May 6: RJD chief Lalu Prasad saw a “political drama” in the handshake between Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and his Gujarat counterpart Narendra Modi at the National Counter-Terrorism Council (NCTC) meeting in New Delhi.

A day after the two chief ministers greeted each other during the meeting, Lalu today accused Nitish of “betraying the faith of the people”.

“It (Nitish-Modi handshake) is a political drama,” Lalu told reporters before leaving for an Aurangabad village to meet the relatives of a slain mukhiya (village head). “The photograph clearly shows Nitish and Narendra Modi met like old pals,” he added.

Reacting to Lalu’s comment, Nitish said: “I meet everyone with courtesy. It’s not wrong to meet people… He (Lalu) is a frustrated person and keeps talking out of context.”

Nitish and Modi are considered prime contestants in an undeclared competition for the national prize, particularly after the Bihar chief minister barred his Gujarat counterpart from campaigning in the 2009 Lok Sabha and 2010 Assembly elections.

Nitish, in fact, had reacted sharply to an advertisement showing Narendra Modi holding his hands on the occasion of the BJP’s national executive meeting ahead of the 2010 Assembly elections. The Bihar chief minister had returned cheques worth Rs 5 crore for relief of Kosi flood victims to the Gujarat government and had cancelled a dinner with BJP leaders, which included Modi in the guest list.

Lalu, while recalling these incidents, said: “Nitish did the drama of keeping a distance with Modi to get the minorities’ vote. The manner in which Nitish is greeting Modi (in yesterday’s photograph) clearly suggests that they are old and close friends. They are the two sides of the same coin.”

Asked about Lalu’s remarks, Nitish said: “What can one expect from him (Lalu)?” The chief minister refused to speak much on the issue. JD(U) and BJP leaders in the state did not attach much importance to the picture showing Narendra Modi warmly greeting Nitish with a handshake.

“It was a Centre-sponsored meeting of all chief ministers on the NCTC issue. It was neither a meeting of political parties nor had Narendra Modi invited Nitish or vice-versa. The two leaders (Nitish and Modi) might have greeted each other out of courtesy, that’s all,” a senior BJP leader said.

State JD(U) president Basishtha Narayan Singh said: “Lalu hardly has any tangible issue to speak against Nitish. Ahead of leaving for Aurangabad in connection with a murder case, he (Lalu) had to speak something against Nitish and that’s what he did. Lalu is known for speaking out of context.”

The leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Abdul Bari Siddiqui, joined his leader (Lalu) in launching a scathing attack on the chief minister. Questioning Nitish’s secular credential, Siddiqui said: “His (Nitish’s) outbursts against Narendra Modi on the eve of the 2010 Assembly elections were political hypocrisy of the first order. He resorted to this hypocrisy to pocket the minorities’ votes.”