Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said this was expected and there are many such people in the country who are “Aaya Ram Gaya Ram”.
“Earlier, he and us were fighting together. When I talked to Lalu Ji and Tejashwi, they also said that Nitish is going. If he wanted to stay, he would have stayed, but he wants to go. That’s why we already knew this, but to keep the INDIA bloc intact, we did not want to disclose it till the end, if we say something wrong, the wrong message will be sent,” Mr Kharge said.
The party was reacting to Nitish Kumar’s decision to resign as the chief minister of Bihar and leave the “Mahagathbandhan” in the state while also dealing a body blow to the INDIA bloc. Mr Kumar had joined the “Mahagathbandhan” in August 2022, when he snapped ties with the BJP, accusing it of trying to “split” his party. He had formed a new government with a multi-party coalition that included the RJD, the Congress and three Left parties.
Lashing out at Mr Kumar, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said it is clear that a “political drama” is being created in order to divert attention from the party’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. He said it is clear that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP are “scared” of the yatra being undertaken by Rahul Gandhi, which is set to enter Bihar soon.
In a post on X in Hindi, Mr Ramesh said, “Nitish Kumar, who frequently changes political partners, is giving tough competition to chameleons in changing colours. The people of Bihar will not forgive this ‘expert of betrayal’ and those who are making him dance to their tunes.”
“It is quite clear that the Prime Minister and the BJP are scared of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra and this political drama has been created to divert attention from it,” he added.
Mr Ramesh asserted, “The INDIA bloc is strong. There are a few speed-breakers here and there, but we will unite to fight against the BJP and all political parties like the DMK, NCP, TMC and SP will fight it together.”
