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On BJP's Rahul Gandhi 'inauspicious' jab, Congress ally's 'halal vs jhatka' retort
Referring to Nitish Kumar's exit from the INDIA bloc and joining hands with the BJP, Giriraj Singh had called Gandhi inauspicious for the Opposition's alliance.
New Delhi: Reacting to BJP leader Giriraj Singh's remark that Rahul Gandhi is "inauspicious" for the Opposition's INDIA bloc, RJD leader Manoj Jha said he would request Prime Minister Narendra Modi to limit the union minister's portfolio to making polarising remarks. Lalu Yadav-led RJD is a Congress ally in Bihar.
"Giriraj Singh belongs to a ministry which talks only about halal vs jhatka, India vs Pakistan, Hindu vs Muslim, this kind of portfolio actually doesn't exist in the centre. I would request PM Modi to limit his portfolio for these kinds of things so that it doesn't come as a shock to people," he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Referring to Nitish Kumar's exit from the INDIA bloc and joining hands with the BJP, Giriraj Singh had called Gandhi inauspicious for the Opposition's alliance.
"Rahul Gandhi has been proven to be inauspicious for the INDI Alliance. The alliance is breaking everywhere he goes... The same happened in West Bengal and Bihar. In UP, if he bows down before Akhilesh Yadav then it is a different thing... First Rahul Gandhi should do 'Nyay' within the party," he said on Tuesday.
Reacting to the remark, Congress MP K Suresh said Giriraj Singh is an outspoken man.
"Giriraj Singh is an outspoken man. He always makes baseless allegations against Congress party and leaders. We don't mind his comments," he said.
Singh made the remark as Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra toured Bihar.
Nitish Kumar's exit has put in dire straits the Congress party's plan to present a combined Opposition front to the BJP juggernaut in this year's Lok Sabha elections.
Most INDIA bloc partners are unwilling to accept the Congress's big brother position in their respective states.
Mamata Banerjee has said her Trinamool Congress will contest the general elections alone in Bengal. The Punjab unit of the Aam Aadmi Party also wants to contest in all 13 Lok Sabha seats. Samajwadi Party's Akhilesh Yadav has offered only 11 out of 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh.
Nitish Kumar's JD(U) had blamed the Congress for the former's split with the INDIA bloc, claiming it tried to usurp the alliance's leadership.
The Bharatiya Janata Party calls the INDIA bloc an unnatural alliance.
