"Raj Thackeray kept mum in recent times because of the pressure created by us due to the resignations

The Mumbai terror attacks have made arch rivals JD(U) and RJD change tack on the Maharashtra issue. The high-pitched political war of words against each other appears to have come to an end. Over one month ago when Raj Thackeray-led MNS goons beat up Biharis in Mumbai, there was a rare show of unity for a brief period among the political class of Bihar. It was followed by the usual game of one-upmanship between JD(U) and RJD which was turning dirtier by the day. "The Mumbai terror attacks are a national issue. All other issues are secondary. We can fight on other issues another day," said RJD's national spokesperson Shyam Rajak. Before November 26, RJD had launched a campaign demanding the resignation of CM Nitish Kumar to prove his love for Biharis, post-MNS attacks on them in Mumbai. The JD(U), whose MPs quit the Lok Sabha to protest the developments in Maharashtra and demand dismissal of the government there, is struggling to salvage the issue it had hoped to make a big poll issue. The party has organized a series of functions from December 20 to "felicitate" its MPs who resigned "for the sake of Bihar and Biharis". "Raj Thackeray kept mum in recent times because of the pressure created by us due to the resignations," said Rajiv Ranjan Singh, state JD(U) president and one of the five MPs who resigned. The party hopes to mix up the terror issue with the anti-North Indian stir for political mileage. "The Maharashtra government and the UPA government at the Centre have failed to check terror attacks. It has also been aiding and patronizing terror tactics of Raj Thackeray. What else was Thackeray doing if not spreading terror?" he asked. However, political pundits see the ebbing of the anti-MNS stir in Bihar. "The Mumbai terror attacks have left both UPA and NDA leaders `speechless' on the issue of the anti-North Indian stir in Maharashtra," said a former minister of RJD. "The issue, which had evoked strong protests in Bihar by students and political establishments, appears to have been put on the backburner," he added.