Blasts aimed at communal clashes: accused

Patna: The Patna serial blasts in which Indian Mujhaideen(IM) was allegedly involved was engineered with the motive of triggering communal clashes in Bihar in a claim made to police by one of the main accused in the explosions at Narendra Modi's rally.

Three live bombs, meanwhile, were found today during searches at Gandhi Maidan, where another rally is scheduled for tomorrow after the Sunday blasts in and around the sprawling ground that killed six persons and injured 82 others.

The bombs were found on a day when Union Home Secretary Anil Goswami visited Gandhi Maidan and the toilet on the platform at the Patna railway station where the first blast took place. "The investigation is heading in the right direction and perpetrators and conspirators will be caught soon. "We are hopeful that the results will be out soon," Goswami told reporters. A bomb each was found near the Police Information Room, another from the Children's Park and third one from a place opposite the Magadh Mahila College, all on Gandhi Maidan, Deputy Superintendent of Police, City, Manoj Kumar Tiwari said.

The three bombs were recovered within a couple of hours of each other, he said. Two bombs were defused by the bomb disposal squads of the NSG, while the third one was being defused, Superintendent of Police, City, Jayant Kant said. Imtiyaz Ansari, the main accused in the Patna blasts, has reportedly claimed before his interrogators that he had been trained in making Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in Jharkhand and Bihar only and the attack at the BJP rally was aimed at creating communal clashes in Bihar.

Ansari, as claimed by the interrogators, has alleged that Mohd Tehseen Akhtar, second-in-command after the arrest of Yasin Bhatkal, had told him and others that an attack had to be carried out during the rally as this could trigger communal clashes in the state, police sources said. Ansari, who was produced before Railway Magistrate Arvind Kumar Singh late last night, was remanded to seven days police custody.  Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said the state government has asked the National Investigation Agency(NIA) to take over the probe into the blasts.

After his arrest, Ansari had been claiming that he was trained and indoctrinated into the IM fold by Akhtar whom he was identifying as "Memon". However, on being shown the picture of Akhtar, he identified him as his handler. 
Akhtar, who was suspected to be the brain behind the serial explosions, was reportedly desperate to conduct a sensational attack to avenge the arrest of Bhatkal.

Blasts aimed at communal clashes: accused

Patna: The Patna serial blasts in which Indian Mujhaideen(IM) was allegedly involved was engineered with the motive of triggering communal clashes in Bihar in a claim made to police by one of the main accused in the explosions at Narendra Modi's rally.

Three live bombs, meanwhile, were found today during searches at Gandhi Maidan, where another rally is scheduled for tomorrow after the Sunday blasts in and around the sprawling ground that killed six persons and injured 82 others.

The bombs were found on a day when Union Home Secretary Anil Goswami visited Gandhi Maidan and the toilet on the platform at the Patna railway station where the first blast took place. "The investigation is heading in the right direction and perpetrators and conspirators will be caught soon. "We are hopeful that the results will be out soon," Goswami told reporters. A bomb each was found near the Police Information Room, another from the Children's Park and third one from a place opposite the Magadh Mahila College, all on Gandhi Maidan, Deputy Superintendent of Police, City, Manoj Kumar Tiwari said.

The three bombs were recovered within a couple of hours of each other, he said. Two bombs were defused by the bomb disposal squads of the NSG, while the third one was being defused, Superintendent of Police, City, Jayant Kant said. Imtiyaz Ansari, the main accused in the Patna blasts, has reportedly claimed before his interrogators that he had been trained in making Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in Jharkhand and Bihar only and the attack at the BJP rally was aimed at creating communal clashes in Bihar.

Ansari, as claimed by the interrogators, has alleged that Mohd Tehseen Akhtar, second-in-command after the arrest of Yasin Bhatkal, had told him and others that an attack had to be carried out during the rally as this could trigger communal clashes in the state, police sources said. Ansari, who was produced before Railway Magistrate Arvind Kumar Singh late last night, was remanded to seven days police custody.  Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said the state government has asked the National Investigation Agency(NIA) to take over the probe into the blasts.

After his arrest, Ansari had been claiming that he was trained and indoctrinated into the IM fold by Akhtar whom he was identifying as "Memon". However, on being shown the picture of Akhtar, he identified him as his handler. 
Akhtar, who was suspected to be the brain behind the serial explosions, was reportedly desperate to conduct a sensational attack to avenge the arrest of Bhatkal.

Indian-American, team discover most distant galaxy

Washington: Astronomers, including an Indian-American, have discovered the most distant spectroscopically confirmed galaxy ever found - one created within 700 million years after the Big Bang. "It's exciting to know we're the first people in the world to see this," said Vithal Tilvi, a post-doctoral research associate at Texas A&M, a research-intensive flagship university, and co-author of the paper published in the latest edition of the journal Nature. "It raises interesting questions about the origins and the evolution of the universe," said Tilvi, born in Goa, India.  He attended Goa University and also worked at the National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, and at the National Antarctic Research Centre, Vasco.

The paper's lead author is Steven Finkelstein, an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin and 2011 Hubble Fellow. Light from the galaxy, designated by scientists as z8_GND_5296, took about 13.1 billion years to reach the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope and the Keck Observatory in Hawaii, both of which detected the galaxy in infrared light. The researchers suspect they may have zeroed in on the era when the universe made its transition from an opaque state in which most of the hydrogen was neutral to a translucent state in which most of the hydrogen is ionised.

Tilvi notes this is one of two major changes in the fundamental essence of the universe since its beginning - the other being a transition from a plasma state to a neutral state. He is leading the effort on a follow-up paper that will use a sophisticated statistical analysis to explore that transition further. "Everything seems to have changed since then," Tilvi said. "If it was neutral everywhere today, the night sky that we see wouldn't be as beautiful. What I'm working on is studying exactly why and exactly where this happened. Was this transition sudden, or was it gradual?"

The Nature paper is the result of raw data gleaned from a powerful Hubble Space Telescope imaging survey of the distant universe called CANDELS, or Cosmic Assembly Near-Infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey. Using that data, the team was armed with 43 potential distant galaxies and set out to confirm their distances. 
Tilvi, Finkelstein and his graduate student, Mimi Song, detected only one galaxy during their two nights of observation at Keck, but it turned out to be the most distant ever confirmed.

Indian-American, team discover most distant galaxy

Washington: Astronomers, including an Indian-American, have discovered the most distant spectroscopically confirmed galaxy ever found - one created within 700 million years after the Big Bang. "It's exciting to know we're the first people in the world to see this," said Vithal Tilvi, a post-doctoral research associate at Texas A&M, a research-intensive flagship university, and co-author of the paper published in the latest edition of the journal Nature. "It raises interesting questions about the origins and the evolution of the universe," said Tilvi, born in Goa, India.  He attended Goa University and also worked at the National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, and at the National Antarctic Research Centre, Vasco.

The paper's lead author is Steven Finkelstein, an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin and 2011 Hubble Fellow. Light from the galaxy, designated by scientists as z8_GND_5296, took about 13.1 billion years to reach the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope and the Keck Observatory in Hawaii, both of which detected the galaxy in infrared light. The researchers suspect they may have zeroed in on the era when the universe made its transition from an opaque state in which most of the hydrogen was neutral to a translucent state in which most of the hydrogen is ionised.

Tilvi notes this is one of two major changes in the fundamental essence of the universe since its beginning - the other being a transition from a plasma state to a neutral state. He is leading the effort on a follow-up paper that will use a sophisticated statistical analysis to explore that transition further. "Everything seems to have changed since then," Tilvi said. "If it was neutral everywhere today, the night sky that we see wouldn't be as beautiful. What I'm working on is studying exactly why and exactly where this happened. Was this transition sudden, or was it gradual?"

The Nature paper is the result of raw data gleaned from a powerful Hubble Space Telescope imaging survey of the distant universe called CANDELS, or Cosmic Assembly Near-Infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey. Using that data, the team was armed with 43 potential distant galaxies and set out to confirm their distances. 
Tilvi, Finkelstein and his graduate student, Mimi Song, detected only one galaxy during their two nights of observation at Keck, but it turned out to be the most distant ever confirmed.

Embassy in Saudi Arabia has done all to help Indians: Official

Dubai: The Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia has left no stone unturned to make sure that no Indian remains there illegally after the amnesty period granted by the authorities for expatriates to rectify their residency status in that Gulf nation ends Nov 3.

Sibi George, deputy chief of mission (DCM), while speaking to volunteers and the media over the weekend at Dammam in Saudi Arabia, said the Indian embassy in Saudi capital Riyadh has done everything to make sure that no Indian in that Gulf nation remained in the illegal category after the amnesty ends, the Saudi Gazette reported.

“Over 1.23 million people have rectified their status and 300,000 people left the country, and we should realise that those who left the country were waiting for this moment,” George was quoted as saying.

“The speculation made by some Indian media, especially Kerala media, that huge number of Indians are going to come back from Saudi Arabia have been proved wrong, rather I must tell you that the number of Indians have gone up in the last four months,” he added.

Stating that diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and India are very strong, he expressed gratitude to Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz and the authorities “for their kind gesture” that allowed millions of expatriates to rectify their residency status.

“We will continue to build better trade relations with the Kingdom, and we are inviting more Saudi companies to invest in India,” he said. He said more opportunities for skilled Indians will arise in the future in Saudi Arabia as the economy of the country is growing at a good pace. “We have over 800 registered volunteers who have done a tremendous job in helping people during this grace period,” he said.

The Saudi government had introduced a new labour policy, called Nitaqat, that makes it mandatory for all Saudi companies to reserve 10 percent of jobs for Saudi nationals. There are around 2.8 million expatriate Indians in Saudi Arabia, a large number of whom are from the south Indian state of Kerala.

Embassy in Saudi Arabia has done all to help Indians: Official

Dubai: The Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia has left no stone unturned to make sure that no Indian remains there illegally after the amnesty period granted by the authorities for expatriates to rectify their residency status in that Gulf nation ends Nov 3.

Sibi George, deputy chief of mission (DCM), while speaking to volunteers and the media over the weekend at Dammam in Saudi Arabia, said the Indian embassy in Saudi capital Riyadh has done everything to make sure that no Indian in that Gulf nation remained in the illegal category after the amnesty ends, the Saudi Gazette reported.

“Over 1.23 million people have rectified their status and 300,000 people left the country, and we should realise that those who left the country were waiting for this moment,” George was quoted as saying.

“The speculation made by some Indian media, especially Kerala media, that huge number of Indians are going to come back from Saudi Arabia have been proved wrong, rather I must tell you that the number of Indians have gone up in the last four months,” he added.

Stating that diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and India are very strong, he expressed gratitude to Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz and the authorities “for their kind gesture” that allowed millions of expatriates to rectify their residency status.

“We will continue to build better trade relations with the Kingdom, and we are inviting more Saudi companies to invest in India,” he said. He said more opportunities for skilled Indians will arise in the future in Saudi Arabia as the economy of the country is growing at a good pace. “We have over 800 registered volunteers who have done a tremendous job in helping people during this grace period,” he said.

The Saudi government had introduced a new labour policy, called Nitaqat, that makes it mandatory for all Saudi companies to reserve 10 percent of jobs for Saudi nationals. There are around 2.8 million expatriate Indians in Saudi Arabia, a large number of whom are from the south Indian state of Kerala.

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome- the new lifestyle disease

New Delhi: Troubled by facial hair, acne and irregular menstrual periods? Chances are you could be suffering from Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), a largely lifestyle-related disease in women of reproductive age, which is seeing a rise in India, especially among young girls.

Experts said while the exact cause of the condition is not known - for long it was considered a genetic disease - the problem largely affects the ovaries, the organs responsible for the production of eggs and female hormones. The condition runs in families.

"The incidence of women suffering from PCOS has doubled as it is difficult to diagnose-being a spectrum of diseases without having any one particular symptom," Mala Srivastava, senior consultant at the obstetric and gynaecology department of Sir Gangaram hospital, told IANS.

Doctors said that approximately 30-40 percent of teenagers coming to OPDs suffer from PCOS, which often affects younger women. While the major cause for worry in women suffering from PCOS is infertility, it can also become life-threatening as it leads to an increase in incidence of obesity·

Around 40-60 percent of women with PCOS suffer from obesity, which in turn leads to diabetes, uterine cancer and high cholesterol. Across the globe, 4-11 percent of the female population suffers from PCOS. While the incidence of PCOS is less among rural women, roughly 30 percent of the urban women population suffers from it.

It is a common endocrine disorder where there is an imbalance in the hormones produced in a woman's body. Pointing out obesity as being a major factor for PCOS, Srivastava said obesity leads to hormonal changes, which are responsible for PCOS.

According to her, certain women are insulin resistant, which leads to obesity in them and in turn results in hormonal imbalances and develops into PCOS. Listing PCOS as the most common reproductive endocrinological disorder in women, Anita Talwar, senior consultant at the obstetric and gynaecology department of Max hospital, said it can even occur in girls as young as 11 years. The disorder manifests in 11.2 percent of women in their reproductive years with 50 percent comprising adolescent girls.

"We are seeing this problem among young girls, which is a worrying factor," she said. A study published last year in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition examined the effects of a low glycemic index diet compared with a conventional low-fat, high-fibre diet on women with PCOS.

They found that women who followed a low glycemic index diet-a weight loss diet based on controlling blood sugar-had better insulin sensitivity and more menstrual regularity. Treatment of PCOS depends partially on the woman's stage of life.

For younger women who desire birth control, the birth control pill, especially those with low androgenic (male hormone-like) side effects, can revert the PCOS effect by leading to regular periods and prevent the risk of uterine cancer.

Another option is intermittent therapy with the hormone progesterone. Progesterone therapy induces menstrual periods and reduces the risk of uterine cancer, but does not provide contraceptive protection. Srivastava said the need of the hour is to create more awareness about the problem among people, especially women.

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome- the new lifestyle disease

New Delhi: Troubled by facial hair, acne and irregular menstrual periods? Chances are you could be suffering from Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), a largely lifestyle-related disease in women of reproductive age, which is seeing a rise in India, especially among young girls.

Experts said while the exact cause of the condition is not known - for long it was considered a genetic disease - the problem largely affects the ovaries, the organs responsible for the production of eggs and female hormones. The condition runs in families.

"The incidence of women suffering from PCOS has doubled as it is difficult to diagnose-being a spectrum of diseases without having any one particular symptom," Mala Srivastava, senior consultant at the obstetric and gynaecology department of Sir Gangaram hospital, told IANS.

Doctors said that approximately 30-40 percent of teenagers coming to OPDs suffer from PCOS, which often affects younger women. While the major cause for worry in women suffering from PCOS is infertility, it can also become life-threatening as it leads to an increase in incidence of obesity·

Around 40-60 percent of women with PCOS suffer from obesity, which in turn leads to diabetes, uterine cancer and high cholesterol. Across the globe, 4-11 percent of the female population suffers from PCOS. While the incidence of PCOS is less among rural women, roughly 30 percent of the urban women population suffers from it.

It is a common endocrine disorder where there is an imbalance in the hormones produced in a woman's body. Pointing out obesity as being a major factor for PCOS, Srivastava said obesity leads to hormonal changes, which are responsible for PCOS.

According to her, certain women are insulin resistant, which leads to obesity in them and in turn results in hormonal imbalances and develops into PCOS. Listing PCOS as the most common reproductive endocrinological disorder in women, Anita Talwar, senior consultant at the obstetric and gynaecology department of Max hospital, said it can even occur in girls as young as 11 years. The disorder manifests in 11.2 percent of women in their reproductive years with 50 percent comprising adolescent girls.

"We are seeing this problem among young girls, which is a worrying factor," she said. A study published last year in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition examined the effects of a low glycemic index diet compared with a conventional low-fat, high-fibre diet on women with PCOS.

They found that women who followed a low glycemic index diet-a weight loss diet based on controlling blood sugar-had better insulin sensitivity and more menstrual regularity. Treatment of PCOS depends partially on the woman's stage of life.

For younger women who desire birth control, the birth control pill, especially those with low androgenic (male hormone-like) side effects, can revert the PCOS effect by leading to regular periods and prevent the risk of uterine cancer.

Another option is intermittent therapy with the hormone progesterone. Progesterone therapy induces menstrual periods and reduces the risk of uterine cancer, but does not provide contraceptive protection. Srivastava said the need of the hour is to create more awareness about the problem among people, especially women.

Modi is like Hitler, will never be PM: Nitish

Rajgir (Bihar): Comparing him to Hitler, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Tuesday hit back at Narendra Modi, saying he lacked the qualities to become a Prime Minister and his desperate dream to unfurl national flag at Red Fort would remain unfulfilled.

Two days after the BJP Prime Ministerial candidate launched a no-holds barred attack on Kumar in a Patna rally, he rejected accusations of having "betrayed and backstabbed" socialist stalwarts like Jaiprakash Narayan and Ram Manohar Lohia and accused Modi of concocting stories.

He also refused Modi's claim that he was cosying up to Congress and in fact attacked the BJP for weakening the fight against UPA. In his 90-minute speech at the JD(U) convention that was laced with sarcasm and derision but made in a calm and measured tone, the Bihar strongman tore into Modi questioning his knowledge of history and "lack of civilised language" for a man who wants to be the Prime Minister.

"When had I deserted JP's ideology? Just because JP comes in BJP, he (Modi) made the allegation by linking the two together as it rhymes.... Lohia brought parties together to fight Congress. BJP is walking its own path alone. Where is the comparison," he said to repeated cheers of party workers.

Dismissing Modi's barb that he was dreaming to become prime minister, Kunar asked when did he dream to become PM but added that such an aspiration was not a bad thing. "Gujaratis are very fond of ice-creams but this sweetness is not visible in his (Modi) speech. He kept drinking water, wiping sweat and cursing me...."

"Why was he sweating so much? The man dreaming to be on the country's highest post should be sober, why this unnecessary excitement and hurry?", Kumar said making fun of Modi's repeated sipping of water and wiping his sweat during the Patna speech  He alleged that Modi believed in repeating a lie hundred times to make it sound true. "He (Modi) is behaving like Hitler by propagating fascism," Kumar said, adding the people of the country will never make him the PM.

"Along with trying to create an environment in which an artificial wave is being sought to be created, this man is now resorting to false stories and incorrect facts to target his rivals," he said. "It is not just dictatorship. It is fascism and those who believe in fascism, their icon is Hilter. They they will do what Hitler did. Hitler's propaganda minister would tell a lie hundreds of times and it would seem to be true. The same thing is happening here now," Kumar said.

"Don't let your differences lead to communal violence. Let their dream to hoist the Indian flag at the Red Fort be a dream only," he said. Kumar mocked at Modi's "amazing" knowledge of history, referring to his wrong mention of historical site Taxila being in Bihar and Chandragupta Maurya as having belonged to the Gupta dynasty. In a point-by-point rebuttal, Kumar said that while speaking against him at the Patna rally, Modi had in his "excitement" given out wrong historical information. Acting like a "knowledgeable person", Modi referred to Chandragupta as great king of Gupta dynasty instead of Maurya dynasty which ruled from Patliputra which is now Patna, he said.

"The BJP leader in excitement cited wrong history by saying Taxila was a great historical site in Bihar which is wrong as the place is in North-West Pakistan. Chanakya, the great economist who had written 'Arthasashtra', was a teacher there before coming to Patliputra," a smiling Kumar said, adding he had even visited there once.
"Alexander had never reached Ganga as he was stopped at river Satluj itself," he said. Kumar also dismissed Modi's version of the lunch stories where he alleged that the JD(U) leader was uncomfortable in his presence while sharing a table with him. "The lunch story hosted by Prime Minister was concocted as this never happened. Once I shared table with him at a function of former Chief Justice of Patna High Court Justice Bhatt at Ahmedabad and had a good dinner of dhokla and ice cream. He (Modi) was a guest there and I too was a guest," he said.

He was referring to Modi's claim that Kumar was not taking food and water at a lunch hosted by the Prime Minister and that the Gujarat leader had to comfort him saying that there were no cameras around. "During that dinner I was told that people from Gujarat are great lovers of ice cream as sweet dish. But, I find no trace of sweetness in the toungue of this man (Narendra Modi)," he said taking potshots at Modi. On Modi emphasising his humble background as tea seller in a trains, the Bihar CM said he also came from an ordinary family but never made a fuss about it.

"I am son of a freedom fighter who went to jail a number of times. In this condition my mother used to do farming to sustain the family. After coming from school, I used to extend a helping hand to my mother and also helped my father (an ayurvedic doctor) in tying packet of medicine." "Just by being born in a backward caste family does not make anybody their leader. People like Chaudhary Charan Singh, Raj Narayan and V P Singh were not born in backward castes but went to become their leaders because of their genuine commitment towards their welfare," he said.

"What you have done for backward castes is important. I do not have the experience of selling tea in stations," he said. Hype can be created around an individual by putting all the resources but the poor will vote for those who fight for them. "Those aspiring for the top post must speak sweetly with everybody and take everyone along," he said. On Modi's remarks that Kumar had returned the aid for Kosi flood victims sent by Gujarat, the Bihar Chief Minister said that in Indian culture one does not praise oneself.

"Gujarat government sent money for Kosi flood victims and then they started advertising that they had helped Bihar. If one helps someone, then it should not be advertised. The cheque was returned and then they encashed it." Tracing the events that led to the split Kumar blamed the BJP for breaking the 17-year-old alliance with the JDU. "What did we want? We suggested that the leader for the prime minister's post should be someone who is accepted by all, someone who works for all.

"If you have to win, there should be single target. You (BJP) have set two targets, one to remove Congress and the second is to take all the credit. It is wrong to blame us whereas you have betrayed us," he said. 
He said 120 crore people of the country could never accept a man as their leader who could not do "gale-milne" (greet each other as Muslims do).

Modi is like Hitler, will never be PM: Nitish

Rajgir (Bihar): Comparing him to Hitler, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Tuesday hit back at Narendra Modi, saying he lacked the qualities to become a Prime Minister and his desperate dream to unfurl national flag at Red Fort would remain unfulfilled.

Two days after the BJP Prime Ministerial candidate launched a no-holds barred attack on Kumar in a Patna rally, he rejected accusations of having "betrayed and backstabbed" socialist stalwarts like Jaiprakash Narayan and Ram Manohar Lohia and accused Modi of concocting stories.

He also refused Modi's claim that he was cosying up to Congress and in fact attacked the BJP for weakening the fight against UPA. In his 90-minute speech at the JD(U) convention that was laced with sarcasm and derision but made in a calm and measured tone, the Bihar strongman tore into Modi questioning his knowledge of history and "lack of civilised language" for a man who wants to be the Prime Minister.

"When had I deserted JP's ideology? Just because JP comes in BJP, he (Modi) made the allegation by linking the two together as it rhymes.... Lohia brought parties together to fight Congress. BJP is walking its own path alone. Where is the comparison," he said to repeated cheers of party workers.

Dismissing Modi's barb that he was dreaming to become prime minister, Kunar asked when did he dream to become PM but added that such an aspiration was not a bad thing. "Gujaratis are very fond of ice-creams but this sweetness is not visible in his (Modi) speech. He kept drinking water, wiping sweat and cursing me...."

"Why was he sweating so much? The man dreaming to be on the country's highest post should be sober, why this unnecessary excitement and hurry?", Kumar said making fun of Modi's repeated sipping of water and wiping his sweat during the Patna speech  He alleged that Modi believed in repeating a lie hundred times to make it sound true. "He (Modi) is behaving like Hitler by propagating fascism," Kumar said, adding the people of the country will never make him the PM.

"Along with trying to create an environment in which an artificial wave is being sought to be created, this man is now resorting to false stories and incorrect facts to target his rivals," he said. "It is not just dictatorship. It is fascism and those who believe in fascism, their icon is Hilter. They they will do what Hitler did. Hitler's propaganda minister would tell a lie hundreds of times and it would seem to be true. The same thing is happening here now," Kumar said.

"Don't let your differences lead to communal violence. Let their dream to hoist the Indian flag at the Red Fort be a dream only," he said. Kumar mocked at Modi's "amazing" knowledge of history, referring to his wrong mention of historical site Taxila being in Bihar and Chandragupta Maurya as having belonged to the Gupta dynasty. In a point-by-point rebuttal, Kumar said that while speaking against him at the Patna rally, Modi had in his "excitement" given out wrong historical information. Acting like a "knowledgeable person", Modi referred to Chandragupta as great king of Gupta dynasty instead of Maurya dynasty which ruled from Patliputra which is now Patna, he said.

"The BJP leader in excitement cited wrong history by saying Taxila was a great historical site in Bihar which is wrong as the place is in North-West Pakistan. Chanakya, the great economist who had written 'Arthasashtra', was a teacher there before coming to Patliputra," a smiling Kumar said, adding he had even visited there once.
"Alexander had never reached Ganga as he was stopped at river Satluj itself," he said. Kumar also dismissed Modi's version of the lunch stories where he alleged that the JD(U) leader was uncomfortable in his presence while sharing a table with him. "The lunch story hosted by Prime Minister was concocted as this never happened. Once I shared table with him at a function of former Chief Justice of Patna High Court Justice Bhatt at Ahmedabad and had a good dinner of dhokla and ice cream. He (Modi) was a guest there and I too was a guest," he said.

He was referring to Modi's claim that Kumar was not taking food and water at a lunch hosted by the Prime Minister and that the Gujarat leader had to comfort him saying that there were no cameras around. "During that dinner I was told that people from Gujarat are great lovers of ice cream as sweet dish. But, I find no trace of sweetness in the toungue of this man (Narendra Modi)," he said taking potshots at Modi. On Modi emphasising his humble background as tea seller in a trains, the Bihar CM said he also came from an ordinary family but never made a fuss about it.

"I am son of a freedom fighter who went to jail a number of times. In this condition my mother used to do farming to sustain the family. After coming from school, I used to extend a helping hand to my mother and also helped my father (an ayurvedic doctor) in tying packet of medicine." "Just by being born in a backward caste family does not make anybody their leader. People like Chaudhary Charan Singh, Raj Narayan and V P Singh were not born in backward castes but went to become their leaders because of their genuine commitment towards their welfare," he said.

"What you have done for backward castes is important. I do not have the experience of selling tea in stations," he said. Hype can be created around an individual by putting all the resources but the poor will vote for those who fight for them. "Those aspiring for the top post must speak sweetly with everybody and take everyone along," he said. On Modi's remarks that Kumar had returned the aid for Kosi flood victims sent by Gujarat, the Bihar Chief Minister said that in Indian culture one does not praise oneself.

"Gujarat government sent money for Kosi flood victims and then they started advertising that they had helped Bihar. If one helps someone, then it should not be advertised. The cheque was returned and then they encashed it." Tracing the events that led to the split Kumar blamed the BJP for breaking the 17-year-old alliance with the JDU. "What did we want? We suggested that the leader for the prime minister's post should be someone who is accepted by all, someone who works for all.

"If you have to win, there should be single target. You (BJP) have set two targets, one to remove Congress and the second is to take all the credit. It is wrong to blame us whereas you have betrayed us," he said. 
He said 120 crore people of the country could never accept a man as their leader who could not do "gale-milne" (greet each other as Muslims do).