Bihar's ruling allies JD(U) and BJP were in open war on Sunday with the latter daring chief minister Nitish Kumar to snap ties following the Gujarat flood aid row.

Angry over Kumar returning the Rs five crore flood relief money to the Narendra Modi government, deputy chief minister Sushil Modi of BJP boycotted the chief minister's functions today.

Upping the ante, senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha said what Kumar has done is a "childish act" and that if the chief minister does not want to continue the alliance with BJP, "let him clearly announce it."

"There is no use of doing this drama," Sinha said in Ranchi, maintaining that he did not understand the logic behind Kumar returning the relief fund to Gujarat.

Apart from Sushil Modi, state minister and BJP leader N K Yadav, who represents the Patna City constituency, also pulled out from the chief minister's 'Biswas Yatra' (confidence march).

"I don't want to accompany Kumar for the meeting for the arbitrary attitude of the chief minister in returning the flood relief money to the government of Gujarat," a fuming Modi told reporters here after cancelling his programme with the chief minister at Paliganj in Patna district.

However, JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav asserted that his party's alliance will BJP will continue despite the "unfortunate" episode involving Bihar chief minister and his Gujarat counterpart that started after the publishing of ads showing Narendra Modi and Nitish clasping hands.

"Our alliance with NDA is old and our intention is that it should continue. The incidents of June 12 were unfortunate but are now behind us. What has passed has passed. After June 12 we fought Rajya Sabha polls together," Yadav said in New Delhi where BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain met him.

Hussain, a BJP spokesperson, later said the top party brass will discuss the developments in Bihar tomorrow.

"BJP central leadership is keeping an eye on the political situation in Bihar. Our party president and other senior leaders are not in the capital. They will be here tomorrow and we will discuss the issue," he said.

Sharad Yadav maintained that the events of June 12- when Nitish expressed his ire at an advertisement issued by Bihari migrants thanking Modi for flood relief to Bihar- will not harm the JD(U)-BJP alliance and added, "That has passed and we should look ahead".

Opposition leaders RJD chief Lalu Prasad and LJP leader Ram Vilas Paswan hit out at Nitish Kumar on the flood relief issue and accused him of enacting a "drama" to get minority votes in the upcoming assembly elections.

They also dared the BJP to sever ties with the JD(U) for the "humiliating" treatment meted out to it "if it has any self-esteem left".

Other state BJP ministers too lashed out at Nitish.

Cooperative minister Giriraj Singh and public health engineering department minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey said the chief minister, by returning the money, was only engaging in vote bank politics.

Describing the chief minister as "an arrogant and ungrateful person", Singh said, "Can the chief minister return the services of doctors of Gujarat who served the flood victims in north Bihar?".

Claiming that Kumar was trying to woo Muslim voters ahead of the coming Assembly election as was done by RJD chief Lalu Prasad by arresting L K Advani during his 'rath yatra', Singh said the chief minister would not succeed in his efforts.

Choubey said the chief minister should have taken the cabinet into confidence before returning the money since it was was not a private fund.

The cooperative minister supported deputy chief minister Modi's move to boycott functions and said he should have taken the decision much earlier.

The return of the aid given to flood victims of Bihar by the Gujarat government was an insult not only to the people of Bihar and Gujarat but also to the nation, the two BJP leaders said and added that the "self-respect" of the party would not be compromised with.

However, echoing sentiments of Sharad Yadav, JDU general secretary Javed Raza said his party would contest the forthcoming elections in Bihar in alliance with the BJP.

"The development is unfortunate, but our alliance will continue. All the constituents of the NDA are united," Raza told reporters in Hoshiarpur, Punjab.

He said that Sharad Yadav had recently met BJP President Nitin Gadkari and discussed the ongoing controversy involving Nitish and Narendra Modi.

"After a long discussion, Sharad Yadav had already announced the continuation of NDA alliance," he said.

Meanwhile, the Congress also hit out at Nitish, saying after running a coalition government with BJP's support for four years, he could not "wash off the sin" of joining hands with "communal forces" by returning flood relief money to Gujarat.

"If he has realised the folly of joining hands with communal forces, he should have snapped ties immediately.... But after heading the government for four years and then returning Rs five crore will not wash off the sin (of joining communal forces)," union coal minister Sriprakash Jaiswal said at a press conference in Ranchi.