Patna, Sep 30 (PTI) Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s reported outbursts against former Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday drew flak from close aides of the JD(U) president.
Reports have surfaced in the media that at the meeting of the Congress Working Committee in Delhi a day ago, Gandhi had called Kumar a “traitor”.
The JD(U) supremo, who had snapped ties with the BJP in 2022, formed a new government with support of the Congress, the RJD and the Left, and played a key role in formation of the INDIA bloc.
However, unhappy with the reluctance of alliance partners to name him as the convener of the new coalition, Kumar abruptly returned to the NDA in 2024, weeks before the schedule for the Lok Sabha polls was announced by the Election Commission.
Responding to the reported remark by Gandhi, Union minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh “Lalan”, who was the JD(U)’s national president when the INDIA bloc came into being, put out an angry post on X.
Lalan slammed the former Congress president for her “objectionable remarks”, charged her party with “destroying democracy during Emergency” and asserted “Nitish Kumar is adored by his people. He does not need Sonia Gandhi’s certificate”.
He also claimed that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi “democracy has grown strong and the nation is marching towards prosperity”.
JD(U) working president Sanjay Kumar Jha, whom journalists asked here about the remarks by Gandhi, wryly said, “I do not know what has been said by whom.”
But going by the reports in the media, the Congress seems to have had a belated realisation of the value of Nitish Kumar, he said.
“I would also like INDIA bloc partners to remember our leader’s contribution. It was he who travelled the length and the breadth of the country and invited leaders of various hues to the meeting in Patna where the idea of a new coalition was conceived,” added Jha. PTI NAC NN
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.