‘Political turncoats like Kumar...’: Congress after Nitish quits Mahagathbandhan
Shiv Sena (UBT faction) leader Anand Dubey said that the BJP had asked Kumar to switch over as they had already assumed that it would be difficult for them to secure seats in Bihar
New Delhi: The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc parties mounted a scathing attack on Nitish Kumar after he tendered his resignation as the Bihar chief minister and exited the grand alliance on Sunday.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge claimed that he already knew this was coming and underlined that political turncoats like Kumar keep coming and going.
“This information was already given to us by Lalu Yadav [Rashtriya Janata Dal chief] and Tejashwi Yadav that he (Nitish) would leave. Today that came true. …In this country, there is a lot of ‘aaya ram gaya ram’ type people,” Kharge said.
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Kumar, who is set to rejoin the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), tendered his resignation from the post of Bihar CM to Governor Rajendra Arlekar and informed the latter about his decision to sever ties with the ‘Mahagathbandhan’, citing bad relations with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh too echoed Kharge’s statement and said that it was “not surprising” and jibed that Kumar had changed parties so many times, that he could give a tough challenge to chameleons.
“People of Bihar will give a befitting reply to him and to those who are making him dance from Delhi. The BJP, the Prime Minister and the home minister are perturbed by the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra...This drama has been done to divert attention from the Yatra...I would like to say that Kumar is an expert in betrayal,” Ramesh said.
RJD leader Mritunjay Tiwari said that Kumar once again proved that he cannot be trusted at all by any party or the public.
“Nitish will sink the NDA’s boat. The public is watching what he is doing and he must be answerable for his actions. He has set a new world record for switching over,” the RJD leader said.
Shiv Sena (UBT faction) leader Anand Dubey said that the BJP had asked Kumar to switch over as they had already assumed that it would be difficult for them to secure seats in Bihar.
“Previously, the BJP said that their doors will forever be closed for Nitish Kumar, who facilitated the INDIA alliance and hosted the bloc’s initial meeting in Patna. As we became stronger, they (BJP) realised it would be difficult for them to secure seats in Bihar, so they took Nitish on their side,” Dubey said.
DMK leader TKS Elangovan assured that the INDIA bloc will remain strong and said that ‘everything was fine’ in Tamil Nadu.
“…Everybody wants BJP out of power at the Centre and all parties in the alliance feel strongly about that, except Nitish, who had already been with the BJP…. In Tamil Nadu, the alliance is very strong and we will win all 40 seats,” Elangovan told reporters on Sunday.
Later in the day, Kumar is likely to take oath as the Bihar chief minister for the ninth time. The BJP unit elected Samrat Choudhary as the Legislative party leader, and Vijay Kumar Sinha as his deputy.
Also Read: Bihar battle: Dumped by Nitish Kumar, RJD in PR offensive for Tejashwi Yadav
Both accompanied Kumar to the Raj Bhavan to stake claim to form the new JD(U)-BJP government of Bihar. BJP MP Dilip Ghosh while reacting to Kumar’s exit said that Bihar politics is ‘very strange’
“Nitish Kumar was sworn in (as chief minister) thrice after he won the election - sometimes with Lalu Prasad Yadav and sometimes with someone else. He had formed the government (with RJD), but even Tejashwi Yadav’s situation is not good,” Ghosh said.
Union minister and BJP MP Giriraj Singh thanked Kumar for resigning and claimed that if Tejashwi had sat in the CM seat, Bihar would have had ‘jungle raj’ again.
President of the J&K unit of JD(U), GM Shaheen, said that there was suffocation in the INDIA bloc. “INDIA bloc needs to understand that it’s an alliance and the members are not properly supporting the party.”
JD(U) made the initiative to form the INDIA alliance. Nitish and other party leaders approached the political parties in Maharashtra and Delhi, he said. We approached Congress and other parties but they are not committed.
On Saturday, JD(U) spokesperson K C Tyagi hit out at the Congress for repeatedly “insulting” Kumar and said he sees no possibility of the opposition putting up a real fight against the BJP.
