Nitish Kumar and (above) Narendra Modi. Telegraph pictures

Patna, Sept. 14: A US congressional report has praised Nitish Kumar and Narendra Modi for ensuring better governance in their respective states, but while the Gujarat chief minister was quick to hail it as “victory”, the Bihar leader and his party remained circumspect about the pat on the back.

“Another positive example in 2011 has been Bihar, one of India’s poorest states, where chief minister Nitish Kumar has won national attention through his considerable success in emphasising good governance over caste-based politics; he is credited with restoring law and order across much of the state, as well as overseeing infrastructure and educational improvements of direct benefit to common citizens projects,” the report by the US Congressional Research Service (CRS) noted.

The report has also praised Modi, saying the “controversial” Gujarat chief minister had “streamlining economic processes, removing red tape and curtailing corruption in ways that have made the state a key driver of national economic growth”.

The BJP, and Modi, have been buoyed by the report, which comes days after a Supreme Court ruling in a riots case which the party and the Gujarat chief minister perceive as a “victory”. The apex court had not made any favourable remarks on Modi but the BJP is interpreting as such the decision to refer a riot case to a Gujarat court.

Nitish has so far refused to comment on the US report praise. Janata Dal (United) general secretary Shivanand Tiwary said: “It is good that they have recognised our work. But there is nothing to go gaga over that. We will keep on doing hard work for the betterment of the state,” he said.

Nitish and Modi are perceived to be probable NDA candidates for the Prime Minister’s post during the next general elections. Though the Bihar chief minister has steadfastly denied harbouring any prime ministerial ambitions, he seldom likes to be bracketed with his Gujarat counterpart.

Nitish, who is very sensitive about his secular image, had made it a point to keep Modi out of the election campaign in Bihar last year.

The Congressional Research Service, which wrote this report, is not a think tank. The CRS is a wing of the US Library of Congress, which produces scores of reports every year, most of it based on media reports and other published material. The CRS has no source or structure by which it gains any exclusive or special insights. Its reports are usually mundane and routine stuff meant to educate US legislators who may be dealing with an issue (India, in this case) in committees or on the legislature floor and who may not be fully conversant with details of that issue.

The praise for Modi could bolster his chances of getting a visa as a section in Washington feels Americans are losing business because of the pariah treatment meted out to the Gujarat chief minister. The CRS report may help defuse opposition in Congress to his visa from human rights advocates.