Janshakti Janta Dal founder Tej Pratap Yadav on Tuesday openly endorsed Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi as the face of the INDIA alliance, while simultaneously launching an attack on her brother and Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi.
Speaking in Patna, the Janshakti leader said that only Priyanka Gandhi can steer the INDIA alliance, drawing a comparison with Indira Gandhi. He quipped that Rahul Gandhi would not be able to run the bloc.
"Only Priyanka Gandhi can run it; she is like Indira Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi se chalne wala nhi hai (Rahul Gandhi can't run it) by going on a yatra, by sitting on a Bullet, Nitish Kumar ji left, someone else became CM, What's his motive?" he said.
Yadav's remark came in response to Rahul Gandhi's allegation of Nitish Kumar being "compromised" after the Janata Dal (United) chief's recent exit from state politics.
{{/usCountry}}Yadav's remark came in response to Rahul Gandhi's allegation of Nitish Kumar being "compromised" after the Janata Dal (United) chief's recent exit from state politics.
{{/usCountry}}“Rahul Gandhi is talking about Nitish Kumar right now— Kumar left his own position, and someone else has now become Chief Minister. He (Gandhi) in another state, so why is he being greedy about Bihar’s seat?”
This isn't the first time the Congress leader has been on the receiving end of comments that question his ability to run the alliance.
In January of this year, former Congress leader Shakeel Ahmed alleged that there's "no internal democracy" in Congress and Rahul Gandhi wants to "throw out" the senior leadership of the party, news agency ANI reported.
"There are many leaders in Congress who have been politicians long before Rahul Gandhi became one. The day Rahul Gandhi ji won his first election, I won my fifth election. I believe he is uncomfortable sitting with those who don't think of him as their boss. I have felt this for a long time, but when you stay in party you don't say such things," Ahmad told ANI.
Calling him "immature", Congress leader Udit Raj suggested that Yadav “should focus on his own work rather than just blabbering." He added that “no one takes him seriously…”