Patna: With his visit to Congress office with Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram triggering speculations of JD(U) getting closer to Congress, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday downplayed the incident saying he was just being a good host.
"I just played a good host to a guest (Chidambaram) who had come to Bihar on Saturday," Kumar, who dropped Chidambaram at the gate of state Congress headquarters 'Sadaquat Ashram' in his car that day, told reporters in Patna.
"Since the helicopter had developed technical problem, there was no way Chidambaram could have reached Patna on time to attend a function of Congress, interact with media and then catch service flight to Delhi, so I took him in my own car for unhindered movement from Rajgir to Patna," he said.
"For me dropping him to Congress office was just a matter of courtsey...I do not mix courtesy with politics," the JD(U) leader said.
He said, "If I would not have done so, people might have alleged I played spoilsport to his proposed visit to Congress office and his other engagements."
"After dropping Chidambaram at Congress office, I took a longer route to reach airport to see him off but Chidambaram ended his programme at Congress office shortly and joined me on the way and that is how we reached airport together," he said elaborating the sequence of events.
The Union Finance Minister had paid a day-long visit to Bihar on Saturday last to attend a meeting on Nalanda International University and also that of State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) meeting at Rajgir, around 100 km from Patna in the home district of Nalanda of Kumar.
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