Kharge slams BJP-JD(U) alliance, questions Nitish’s shifting loyalties

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday launched a scathing attack on the BJP-JD(U) alliance in poll-bound Bihar and called it opportunistic.

Speaking at a rally in Buxar, he accused Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of frequently switching sides solely for ‘kursi’ (chair) and urged the voters to elect Mahagathbandhan to power this time.

“The alliance between Nitish Kumar and the BJP is opportunistic. It is not good for the people of the state. Nitish Kumar switches sides just for ‘kursi’ (chief minister’s post). The JD(U) chief has joined hands with the ideology that killed Mahatma Gandhi,” the Congress president claimed.

“Sometimes Nitish joins us, but when he feels the BJP has the upper hand, he goes and sits in their lap,” Kharge added.

The BJP and Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) are contesting the upcoming elections in Bihar as part of the NDA, while the opposition Mahagathbandhan consists of the Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), and the Left parties.

Training guns at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kharge asked about the Rs 1.25 lakh crore package he promised for Bihar in 2015 and said that he was running a “factory of lies”.

“People of Bihar must ask Nitish Kumar what happened to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s promise of Rs 1.25 lakh crore package for Bihar, which he had made on August 18, 2015? Modi Ji is running a factory of lies,” Kharge said.

During the address, the Congress chief raked up the Enforcement Directorate (ED) chargesheet filed against former Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case, calling it a political witch hunt by the ruling dispensation.

“This has been done to target Congress. Our leaders can’t be scared. Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi sacrificed their lives for the country. Not even a dog of BJP people had died,” Kharge claimed.

The Congress president also said that the BJP and the RSS were anti-poor and did not care about the welfare of the underprivileged.

“They are against the poor, women, and the weaker sections of society. They (RSS-BJP) can’t think of an inclusive society. They believe in dividing society based on caste and religion,” he claimed in an apparent reference to the recently enacted Waqf Act.

India