Congress busy with polls, INDIA not moving: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar | India News

PATNA: Congress is so preoccupied with the assembly elections in five states that it has little time to get the newly formed opposition bloc INDIA moving, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar said Thursday.
“All of us got together and worked to project Congress as the fulcrum of our unity initiative, but the party has shown no such chinta (thought)… It was felt initially that ‘kaam teji se ho’.(But) nothing much is happening,” Nitish said at a rally organised by CPI, which is part of INDIA.
“It (Congress) is interested, at present, only in assembly elections,” Nitish said.
Harking back to his initial efforts to get non-NDA parties on the same page, Nitish said this led to meetings in Patna, Bengaluru and Mumbai, culminating in the formation of INDIA a couple of months ago.
The JD(U) patriarch, whose party is in alliance with Congress in the state, said he hoped that once assembly elections were over, the latter would “take the initiative and hold discussions” on giving the alliance momentum.

Nitish’s public criticism of Congress comes barely a month after he referred to his cordial “personal relationship” with several BJP leaders, saying he intended to keep it that way. He made the remark in President Droupadi Murmu and BJP MP Radha Mohan Singh’s presence at the convocation of Mahatma Gandhi Central University in Motihari.
On Wednesday, the CM advised his ministerial colleagues to highlight the achievements of the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar as that of the government rather than their individual parties.

At the CPM event, he criticised “those who are at the Centre” without directly naming BJP. “They had no role in the national freedom struggle, and have started obliterating the role of Mahatma Gandhi, who mobilised the masses,” he said.
He also accused them of engineering the recent communal clashes in Bihar. “By 2007, we had restored social harmony in the state. If today a few incidents have happened, it is due to these elements spreading hatred among Hindus and Muslims,” Nitish said.

Turning to CPI general secretary D Raja, Nitish appealed to CPI and CPM to merge. “I am a socialist, and we will be with you. Both CPI and CPM helped me when I contested an assembly election for the first time in 1985,” he said.
‘Hope Congress takes initiative and gives alliance momentum after state polls’
It (Congress) is interested, at present, only in assembly elections,” Nitish said. Harking back to his initial efforts to get non-NDA parties on the same page, Nitish said this led to meetings in Patna, Bengaluru and Mumbai, culminating in the formation of INDIA a couple of months ago.
The JD(U) patriarch, whose party is in alliance with Congress in the state, said he hoped that once assembly elections were over, the latter would “take the initiative and hold discussions” on giving the alliance momentum. Nitish’s public criticism of Congress comes barely a month after he referred to his cordial “personal relationship” with several BJP leaders, saying he intended to keep it that way.
On Wednesday, the CM advised his ministerial colleagues to highlight the achievements of the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar as that of the government rather than their individual parties.
At the CPM event, he criticised “those who are at the Centre” without directly naming BJP. “They had no role in the national freedom struggle, and have started obliterating the role of Mahatma Gandhi, who mobilised the masses,” he said.