Grand Alliance leaders lambast NDA and Nitish

PATNA: Amid talks of a rift on the issue of Congress fielding its MP Ranjeet Ranjan from Supaul and RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav skipping Rahul Gandhi’s rally in her favour on Saturday, prominent leaders of

Grand Alliance

(GA) partners on Monday addressed a joint presser here on Monday to express solidarity.


Leaders of GA constituents RJD, Congress, RLSP, HAM (S) and VIP lambasted the Narendra Modi government and chief minister Nitish Kumar. About Supaul, Tejashwi said, “The same question was asked in 2015 also, but we are together. We have to cover large areas unlike NDA where Nitish Kumar, PM Modi and Ram Vilas Paswan have to assemble together because they know if they don’t, even a thousand people will not attend their rally.”

Tejashwi also targeted Nitish for his party JD(U) not releasing its election manifesto. “Nitish is seeking votes in the name of his works done, but people will judge him on Srijan scam and Muzaffarpur shelter home rape case.”

He also said Nitish had earlier demanded special status for Bihar, but after forming government with BJP, he was not talking about it.

Tejashwi also took a dig a Nitish on corruption, communalism and crime issues and said a person facing NSA (Bindi Yadav) shared dais with PM Modi in Gaya. “My chacha is an engineer and has actually engineered a way to earn through prohibition. A liquor bottle of Rs200 is being sold for Rs1500,” He said while pointing out loopholes in implementing liquor ban in the state.

HAM(S) chief

Jitan Ram Manjhi

used a one liner for Nitish, “Nitish ka koi saga nahi, jise usne thaga nahi,” and mentioned George Fernandes, Digvijay Singh and Sharad Yadav. Manjhi then took on the NDA government and said its foreign relation had deteriorated so much that India’s currency was not being accepted in Nepal.

RLSP chief Upendra Kushwaha said PM Modi, in his rallies, talk of giving reservation, but works against it. He said there was no representation of Dalits or extremely backward or backward castes in higher judiciary and universities. He also said education was in bad shape in Bihar.

Congress state president Madan Mohan Jha said in five years of Modi rule, not a single promise made in 2014 had been fulfilled. “But our president Rahul ji has fulfilled whatever he promised in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan assembly elections.”

Though Tejashwi tried to show solidarity, the sitting arrangements at the press conference showed that seniority was sidelined over closeness. While Manjhi and Kushwaha were sitting beside Tejashwi, state Congress president Jha was sitting beside the RLSP chief. Also, it was Manjhi who spoke after Tejashwi, followed by Kushwaha and Jha despite the fact that Congress is the second largest ally after RJD in the Grand Alliance.