Nitish skips Chennai visit, but Tejashwi leaves

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday excused himself from visiting Chennai, where he was invited by his Tamil Nadu counterpart MK Stalin, highly placed sources said here.

While the CM changed his programme at the eleventh hour, his deputy Tejashwi Yadav and cabinet colleague Sanjay Jha left for the southern city as per schedule.

There was no official word on the reason for the cancellation of Kumar's visit, but sources said the septuagenarian, who has been busy with preparations for the June 23 opposition meet, felt ''unwell and needed rest''.

Kumar and Yadav had been invited to the inauguration of initiatives in memory of late DMK president M Karunanidhi, a former chief minister of Tamil Nadu and Stalin's father.