JAIPUR: Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot's praise of the Bihar Government for bringing in the law whereby it is an offence to abandon elderly parents has created a buzz within political corridors.
This comes at an important juncture as Nitish Kumar, JDU head and Bihar CM has supported the central government from outside.
But all is not well between BJP and JDU as none of the latter's MPs has been included in the Modi Cabinet.
Political observers say that seasoned politician like Gehlot has sensed an opportunity and indicated that Nitish is not 'untouchable' for Congress.
However, BJP says that Congress will not gain anything out of appreciating Nitish and by doing so Gehlot is trying to strengthen his position within the party which suffered a setback after the massive loss in the recent Lok Sabha polls.
As soon as the order was passed by the Nitish Kumar Government last week, Gehlot started tweeting from his official handle praising his political rival.
He tweeted thrice one after another.
One of those tweets claimed that Rajasthan Government has already taken such a step.
In his first tweet, Gehlot wrote, "The steps by the Bihar government on matters relating to not serving the elderly parents are welcome. To maintain the respect of parents and to ensure the responsibility of their children, such steps should be taken. "
"In Rajasthan, in 2010, our government had punished such children who had ignored their parents and abandoned them ."Gehlot wrote in his second tweet.
Political observers believe that through these tweets Gehlot has tried to play a big game. He is a seasoned politician without political reason he will not appreciate Nitish Kumar who is part of NDA alliance.
Nitish has had differences with BJP and Ashok Gehlot is vying for his attention so that Congress could gain by aligning with him in future. Nitish Kumar has raised questions on BJP's idea of secularism and there are several people who have questioned their partnership in NDA.
"Politically it is a sensitive issue and thus Ashok Gehlot has reached out to Nitish Kumar through his tweets. He has had an experience of serving Congress all over India and is thinking whether his party can incorporate a non-Congress CM into the UPA manifold," said Narayan Bareth, senior Journalist and former Professor of the Haridev Joshi University of Journalism.
When Gehlot was sent to Gujarat as an election in-charge, opposition parties rejoiced as they felt that he won't be able to make any dent there. But the results were surprising and this got him closer to Rahul Gandhi.
Later Gehlot was promoted to the General Secretary's post. BJP is unhappy with Gehlot as he was able to to make Ahmed Patel win from Gujarat for Rajya Sabha.
They have increased attacks on Gehlot Government and on Sunday passed a resolution considering the wayward law and order situation that BJP will continue its criticism of the government in the Vidhan Sabha.
"This praise was done to instigate Nitish Kumar against BJP. Congress earlier oppressed Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav too but that did not fetch them more than 2 seats in UP. They will also get nothing from Nitish as well", said Mukesh Pareek, BJP state spokesperson.
"Gehlot has many obstacles in front of him. While he has BJP attacking him from the outside, he has his own detractors posing a threat within Congress after the party's debacle with 25-0 in Rajasthan", said Bareth.