Patna, Jan 30, 2024, IANS

Patna, Jan 30 (IANS): Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday attacked Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for succumbing to BJP's pressure and leaving INDIA bloc.

“After BJP applied a little pressure on Nitish Kumar, he again took a U-turn and left the INDIA bloc,” Rahul Gandhi said.

Rahul Gandhi, while sharing an anecdote, said that former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel once shared a joke with him:

“Baghel said that Nitish Kumar took the oath of Chief Minister in Raj Bhawan along with some other leaders. BJP leaders were also present. After the swearing-in ceremony, Nitish was returning home, stopped midway and asked the driver to take him back to Governor House as he had forgotten his shawl.

“When he reached the Governor's House, the Governor told him ‘Itni Jaldi Wapas Aa Gaye,” Rahul Gandhi said while addressing a rally in Rang Bhumi ground in Purnia.

He said that RJD forced Nitish Kumar to undertake the caste census in the state otherwise he was not interested in carrying out the survey.

“After, he joined our alliance, I asked him to get the caste based survey done in Bihar and I will have no compromise over it. It was Congress and RJD which applied pressure on Nitish to conduct the caste based census in Bihar. BJP was always against it,” Rahul Gandhi said.

He said that BJP did not want caste based surveys to take place anywhere in the country.

“If caste based census is undertaken across the country, everything will become clear. People would come to know about the actual population of Dalit, OBC, and EBC, tribal. BJP does not want you to focus on social justice but wants to distract you,” Rahul Gandhi said.

He said that Nitish Kumar was trapped between INDIA bloc and BJP.

“INDIA bloc alliance will bring social justice in Bihar. We do not require Nitish Kumar. Our alliance will work in Bihar too,” Rahul Gandhi said.