Top leaders of Opposition parties went into a huddle in Patna on Friday to chalk out a roadmap for the formation of an anti-BJP front for next year's general elections. The meeting was hosted by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of the JD(U) and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav of the RJD.

BJP leader and Union Minister Smriti Irani took a dig at JD(U) and other opposition parties, saying it was "ironic" that some of the leaders who witnessed the "murder of democracy" during the Emergency have assembled under the Congress' parasol in Patna.

They have sent out a message that they are unable of taking on Modi on their own, she claimed. "I want to especially express gratitude to the Congress for openly announcing that it is incapable of defeating Modi alone. It needs support."

"Power has moved from the palace to the people. That's why people who take pride in their political legacy now have to go to those whom they had put behind bars during Emergency," Irani said

In a veiled attack on Bihar Chief Minister Kumar, she referred to the recent bridge collapse over the Ganga in the state's Bhagalpur district, and asked, "What kind of democratic bridge will they make who can not even build a bridge." "People are becoming alert about those who could not come together on development issues but now adopting the blackmail route," Irani said.