The Congress has condemned JD(U)’s advice to reconsider its association with RJD and ruled out the many speculations of space for Nitish Kumar in the grand alliance. After national executive meeting in Delhi on Sunday, the JD(U) had laid down conditions for opening any communication channel with the Congress.
JD(U) leader K C Tyagi on Sunday said that any decision over the issue will only be taken after the Congress make its stand clear over the alliance with Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
“Until and unless Congress clears its stand on a corrupt party like RJD, we don’t know how to communicate with them any further,” said Tyagi.
In response to Tyagi’s remark, Congress spokesperson Shaktisinh Gohil claimed he never invited Nitish Kumar to join the grand alliance and ruled out any rethink over the alliance with Lalu Yadav’s party.
“Fascist Nitish is the most unwelcome man in mahagathbandhan. There is no place for him. Instead of advising us, he should introspect and repent what he has done with himself. Our association with RJD is very old and based on ideological commitments. There is no question of rethinking,” he added.
The JD(U) on Sunday had offered an explanation of why it had exited the grand alliance, placing the blame on the Congress for failing to act against RJD despite allegations of corruption. Tyagi remarked,
“Nitish Kumar had gone to meet Rahul Gandhi and took up the issue of corruption cases with him. Lalu was convicted and cases were registered against his son Tejashwi Yadav. We had expectations from him. “
Tyagi said that the alliance was ended by the Congress party and not the JD(U). He added,
“The lack of initiative against Tejashwi by Rahul Gandhi resulted in the break-up of the alliance.”
Later in the meeting, Tyagi announced the party’s decision to contest upcoming elections in four states alone.
“Janata Dal (United) will contest the election on its own in selected seats in Manipur, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.”
Tyagi said adding,
“Some media reports say we are helping BJP but we are neither supporting them nor opposing them, we are not helping them.”
