A key aide of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday inveighed against Sahitya Akademi Award winner Daya Prasad Sinha for likening Asoka the Great to Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Upendra Kushwaha, a former Union minister who now heads the JD(U)`s parliamentary board, demanded that the award, announced recently but yet to be handed over to Sinha, be withdrawn forthwith.

Kushwaha also asked ally BJP to take action against the Padma Shri awardee playwright who is the national convenor of the party’s cultural cell. "He (Sinha) has made a very foul remark about Samrat (emperor) Asoka. He does not deserve the award and the same should be withdrawn. The party, of which he happens to be an office-bearer, must also take action if it wants to avoid backlash," said Kushwaha.