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Rahul Gandhi-led Congress Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra enters Bihar, day after Nitish Kumar's flip-flop
This is Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's first visit to Bihar since the assembly poll campaign of 2020.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' entered Bihar on Monday, a day after chief minister Nitish Kumar dumped the RJD-led 'mahagathbandhan' government in the state and joined the old ally NDA.
The yatra entered Bihar via Kishanganj, a district with a heavy Muslim population which is also a Congress stronghold. This is Rahul Gandhi's first visit to Bihar since the assembly poll campaign of 2020.
Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to address a public meeting in Kishanganj, followed by a rally in the adjoining district of Purnea on Tuesday and another one in Katihar a day later, according to news agency PTI citing party's legislature leader Shakil Ahmed Khan.
Gandhi will then leave for West Bengal on Thursday via Araria district and will return to Bihar a few days later via Jharkhand, said state Congress president Akhilesh Prasad Singh.
According to the party's state unit, its allies in Bihar such as RJD president Lalu Prasad and CPI(ML)-L general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya have been invited to the rally at Purnea.
Political scenarios turned upside down in Bihar on Sunday, after state chief minister and Janta Dal (United) (JDU) president Nitish Kumar ditched the Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) government, he had joined less than 18 months ago and broke its ties with the RJD and returned to the BJP-led NDA. This marked the fourth time Kumar made a crossover between coalitions. He had been switching sides since 2013 over ideological disputes.
He later took the oath as the chief minister for the record ninth time with the support of the BJP. Two of the saffron party leaders – Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha – also took the oath as deputy chief ministers. The list of ministers who took the oath on Sunday also included members of the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) (HAM-S) party and an independent MLA.
Congress also slammed the JDU leader for switching sides. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge called Kumar ‘aya ram, gaya ram'. In Indian politics, political turncoats are referred to as ‘aya ram, gaya ram’, while Jairam Ramesh said that Kumar gives a tough competition to chameleons when it comes to changing his political stripes and partners.
(With inputs from agencies)
