E-Paper
JD(U)'s KC Tyagi takes 'achhoot Congress' dig over Mallikarjun Kharge's ‘Nitish Kumar exit pre-planned' jab
KC Tyagi said had the exit been pre-planned, JD(U) wouldn't have brought regional satraps like Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal and Akhilesh Yadav on board.
New Delhi: Reacting to Mallikarjun Kharge's remark that Nitish Kumar's exit from the INDIA bloc was “pre-planned”, JD(U) leader KC Tyagi on Monday called the Congress 'achhoot' (untouchable).
KC Tyagi said had the exit been pre-planned, JD(U) wouldn't have brought regional satraps like Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal and Akhilesh Yadav on board with the Congress.
“If this was pre-planned, then why did we organise the first meeting of (INDIA parties) in Patna? Why did we bring Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal and Akhilesh Yadav with an 'achhoot' party like you (Congress)?” he told ANI.
Tyagi said the decision to exit the alliance was precipitated by Mamata Banerjee unilaterally proposing the name of Kharge as the alliance's prime minister face.
"This happened after Mamata Banerjee in Delhi proposed Mallikarjun Kharge as INDIA alliance prime ministerial candidate. The Congress party always wanted to grab this (PM) post," he added.
Also read: Mallikarjun Kharge warns against Narendra Modi's re-election with 'last poll' prediction
Tyagi said there was a lack of coordination between the INDIA bloc partners. He also accused the Congress of doing politics with its alliance partners.
"While we were working to strengthen the alliance, Congress was busy grabbing the important posts. They were trying to weaken SP, DMK, TMC and other regional parties. Once Rahul Gandhi said that regional parties don't have an ideology. Due to this, we broke our association with the alliance," he added.
Also read: JD(U) blames Congress bid to steal INDIA bloc leadership for Nitish Kumar's exit
What Mallikarjun Kharge had said
Reacting to Kumar's surprise exit from the INDIA alliance, Kharge had said the move was aimed at breaking the INDIA bloc.
"Such decisions can not be taken in a hurry...This shows that it was all pre-planned. To break the INDIA alliance they (BJP-JD(U)) planned all this... He (Nitish Kumar) kept us in the dark, he kept Lalu Yadav in the dark," he told ANI.
Congress continues attack against Nitish Kumar
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh today called Kumar a girgit.
"After Nitish Kumar's betrayal yesterday, the people of Kishanganj, Bihar are giving a great welcome to Rahul Gandhi and the Yatra. We had invited Mamata ji and also Nitish ji but he turned out to be a 'girgit'," he said, as the Congress party's Nyay Yatra entered Bihar.
Also read: 'Snollygoster': Shashi Tharoor attacks Nitish Kumar with English prowess
Nitish Kumar became the chief minister of Bihar for the ninth time on Sunday, as he formed a government in partnership with the BJP. Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha of the Bharatiya Janata Party took oath as deputy chief ministers.
Nitish Kumar is known for his political flip-flops. In 2013, he broke away from the National Democratic Alliance after 17 years over Narendra Modi's prime ministerial candidature.
He contested and won the 2015 elections in partnership with Lalu Yadav's RJD and the Congress
In 2017, amid corruption charges against the Yadav family, he returned the NDA.
In 2022, Nitish Kumar again snapped ties with the BJP and formed a government with Yadav's RJD.
The Opposition's INDIA bloc, which was formed last year to take on the BJP juggernaut in the Lok Sabha elections, is facing existential challenges as several key partners want to contest elections alone in their respective states.
