Both the BJP and Janata Dal (United) on Sunday tried to project Saturday?s Nitish Kumar outburst as a tiny ripple in a long and enduring relationship. However, as Bihar again woke up today to full-page newspaper advertisements projecting the ?all-round development of Gujarat? and chief minister Narendra Modi took the stage later at the BJP rally speaking in Bhojpuri, Nitish kept a conspicuous absence from the spotlight.

In a clear message to the JD(U), the BJP said it was acting with ?maturity? and taking ?all along? but added that it would not compromise on self-respect. ?We are a mature party which has a mature leadership with resilience… We are showing maturity. For us, our self-respect is most important. We are not going to compromise on our self-respect,? party spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy said.

Speaking last at the BJP Swabhiman rally in Patna, LK Advani asked Nitish to forget ?petty skirmishes? that happen in any coalition and wished that he had been present at the public meeting. ?Narendra Modi joining hands with Nitish Kumar (referring to a Ludhiana rally picture reprinted in ads welcoming Modi on Saturday, which the Bihar CM objected to) can only be a symbol of friendship, not of hatred.?

Rudy downplayed Nitish?s decision to cancel a dinner he was hosting for the BJP leaders?who are here for a national conclave ? after the ads featuring him with Modi appeared. Sources said the JD(U) wanted BJP leaders to come to the dinner minus Modi and Varun Gandhi, but the BJP refused to oblige.

Striking a reconciliatory note, Rudy said: ?We do not think that Nitishji is upset.? On Saturday too, the BJP had tried to impress that the dinner was cancelled on account of paucity of time and the number of issues the party had to discuss at the conclave.

With Nitish keeping mum, JD(U) president Sharad Yadav stepped in from Delhi to repair the ?damage? caused to the ruling alliance in Bihar. ?The issue is over,? Yadav said. ?What was there yesterday has passed.?

?Ours is a very old alliance,? Yadav emphasised, while seeking to put at rest speculation that the JD(U) may break away from the BJP ahead of the Assembly polls to woo the 16% Muslims of the state. However, he added that the ?objectionable? Nitish-Modi ad had caused ?a lot of resentment within the JD(U)?.

A BJP minister from Bihar, however, lashed out at Nitish, questioning how he had ?suddenly discovered that Modi was communal?. ?How come he treats BJP as his friend but finds its icon Modi unacceptable?? state cooperative minister Giriraj Singh told reporters. ?Kumar had never expressed his antipathy for Modi in the past when he was a minister in the NDA government at the Centre from 1998-2004.?

Fielding questions on whether the Modi controversy had hijacked the agenda of the BJP national executive, Rudy said Modi was a successful CM and an important BJP leader, and governments often put out such ads.

In his speech at the BJP rally, which he began in Bhojpuri, Modi made no mention of Nitish, choosing to attack Congress president Sonia Gandhi for her silence on the ?real killers of the Bhopal tragedy?.

?Madam Soniaji, apna maun todiye aur bataiye ki Bhopal kand mein maut ka saudagar kaun tha. Desk ki janta ko biswas dilaiye us din hua kya tha (Break your silence and tell us who is responsible for the Bhopal tragedy. Tell the nation what happened that day),? he said, also attacking the Congress chief on inflation and the Naxal problem.

Modi talked about the long association between Bihar and Gujarat and thanked Bihar for its help during the Bhuj earthquake. He ensured safety and progress for Biharis living in Gujarat and called Bihar a mine of talents. Referring to JP?s Total Revolution, he said it had influenced his way of thinking.

Ad agency questioned

The Bihar Police on Sunday landed up on the premises of local ad agency Expression, which gave the ad to two Patna dailies for Rs 24.10 lakh. Bihar DGP Neelmani confirmed that the police acted on a complaint from the CM?s Secretariat and questioned the agency about whether they or the group of 43 Surat-based Bihar people, who had commission the ad, sought permission from Nitish?s office to use his photograph. Denying reports that his premises had been ?raided?, Expression owner Arindam Guha said: ?I had got readymade ad material from Surat. Any legal liability does not rest with me. It should be the individuals from Surat who can be held responsible.? Guha added that the ad was given to him by the supporter of a Gujarat BJP MP.