THE JHARKHAND STORY DESK
Patna, Nov 2: In a subtle criticism of their ally, the Congress party, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who is a leader of the Janata Dal-United (JDU), remarked on Thursday that the Congress seemed preoccupied with the state assembly elections in five states and wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about advancing the interests of the Indian bloc.
At the ‘BJP Hatao, Desh Bachao’ rally organized by the Communist Party of India (CPI) in Patna, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar stated, “Yes, we formed an Alliance, but we are not actively working to strengthen it at this time. Five states are set to hold elections soon, and it appears that the Congress party is more interested in that. They don’t seem to be as motivated as we were, despite the fact that we were all working together to advance and develop the Congress party. Assembly elections in five states are currently occupying Congress’s time.”
Nitish Kumar stated that the alliance would not give up the battle for the nation and that coalition meetings would recommence after the conclusion of the elections in five states.
“The government in the Centre is trying to alter the history of the country, the legacy of the country. We should save the country from such forces. So we have formed a coalition of all opposition parties urging them all to unite against those trying to tarnish the country’s history,” he said.
“We conducted meetings in Patna as well as other places. We named the coalition INDIA which means Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance. Congress party is now occupied with the assembly elections, but we won’t stop the fight. We will work towards saving the country from those who are trying to alter its history. We have been doing this and will keep doing it. Let the state polls be over and we will sit together again to discuss and strategize. After the elections, the Congress party will itself call everyone”, he added.
In addition, the leader of the JDU alleged that “some anti-social elements” are attempting to incite conflict between Muslims and Hindus in the nation when there are no issues.
“BJP tries to create a stir between Hindus and Muslims but there are no issues between Hindus and Muslims. These people try to do something or the other. Since 2007, they have done a lot. There are some anti-social elements and those at the Centre want to unite them so that they can create tension,” he said.
The elections in five states—Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, and Mizoram—will take place on different days between November 7 and November 30, with the vote tallying in these states set for December 3.