Patna: A reported comment by Congress leader Sonia Gandhi against former Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has triggered a strong reaction from senior leaders of the Janata Dal (United), who accused the Congress of belatedly recognising the Bihar leader’s political importance, PTI reported.
According to media reports, Gandhi made the alleged remark during a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) held in Delhi earlier this week. She reportedly described Kumar as a “traitor”, reigniting tensions between the Congress and the JD(U) over his decision to leave the INDIA bloc.
Kumar had ended his alliance with the BJP in 2022 and formed a government in Bihar with the backing of the Congress, the Rashtriya Janata Dal and Left parties. He subsequently played a significant role in bringing opposition parties together and laying the foundation for the INDIA bloc.
The JD(U) leader, however, later became dissatisfied after alliance partners did not agree to appoint him as the coalition’s convenor. In a sudden political turnaround, Kumar rejoined the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in 2024, shortly before the Election Commission announced the schedule for the Lok Sabha elections.
Union minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, better known as Lalan Singh, was among the first JD(U) leaders to respond to the reported statement. In a strongly worded post on X, Singh criticised Gandhi’s alleged comments and accused the Congress of having “destroyed democracy during the Emergency”.
“Nitish Kumar is adored by his people. He does not need Sonia Gandhi’s certificate,” Lalan Singh said.
He further claimed that democracy had become stronger under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and that the country was moving towards prosperity.
Lalan Singh had served as the JD(U)’s national president when the INDIA bloc was established.
JD(U) working president Sanjay Kumar Jha adopted a more guarded tone when reporters asked him about Gandhi’s alleged remarks in Patna.
“I do not know what has been said by whom,” Jha said.
He added that, if media reports about the CWC meeting were accurate, the Congress appeared to have realised only belatedly how important Kumar was to the opposition alliance.
“But going by the reports in the media, the Congress seems to have had a belated realisation of the value of Nitish Kumar,” he said.
Jha also urged the parties that remain part of the INDIA bloc to acknowledge Kumar’s role in bringing them together.
“I would also like INDIA bloc partners to remember our leader’s contribution. It was he who travelled the length and the breadth of the country and invited leaders of various hues to the meeting in Patna where the idea of a new coalition was conceived,” he said.
