Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday blamed the Congress Party for the Opposition bloc Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) losing steam as. “The Congress party seemed to be more interested in assembly elections in the five States,” he said. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took a jibe over Mr. Kumar’s statement and said the INDIA bloc has been a tukde-tukde (fragmented) alliance bereft of any “vision or mission”.
“We spoke with all the parties, urged them to unite and protect the country from those who are trying to alter its history. For this, meetings were held in Patna, and elsewhere. But, of late, there has not been progress on that front. The Congress seems to be more interested in assembly elections in the five States. In the INDIA coalition, we all had agreed to assign the leading role to the Congress but it appears they will call the next meeting only after the polls in five States,” Mr. Kumar said while addressing the Communist Party of India (CPI) rally ‘Bhajapa hatao, Desh Bachao‘ (remove BJP, save country) in Patna. Senior Communist Part of India (CPI) leaders including general secretary D. Raja were present on the dais when Mr. Kumar said that non-BJP Opposition parties had come together to form a new alliance to oppose the current dispensation.
EDITORIAL | Roadblocks to unity: On the INDIA bloc
