Patna: The cracks in the ruling Mahagathbandhan in Bihar once again surfaced on Sunday after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar lashed out at Congress party in a meeting with Janata Dal United (JDU) leaders.
Sources told CNN-News18 that Kumar accused Congress of "dumping Mahatma Gandhi's ideology", adding that he had nothing to learn from the grand old party. "We do not follow anyone, we are clear with our principles," Kumar reportedly said.
CM Kumar, however, refused to say anything about or against the Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav's rally "BJP hatao, desh bachao", scheduled for August, where Lalu is expected to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Kumar also said that he is open to attending the rally, provided he is invited. "We will definitely participate in the rally if RJD extends its invitation to our leader Nitish Kumar," Bihar JD(U) chief spokesperson Sanjay Singh told reporters.
Earlier in the day, JD-U General Secretary Shayam Razak had told the media that JD-U as a party would not attend the event but Chief Minister Nitish Kumar may in his personal capacity if he was invited by the RJD.
The JD-U and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) along with the Congress are part of the ruling Grand Alliance in the state.
The differences between the two major partners of the alliance surfaced ever since the JD(U) unilaterally announced its support to former Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind, NDA's presidential candidate, without waiting for the united candidate of the Opposition.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi, though, cleared the air, saying she was not upset with Nitish's decision to back the NDA candidate, Ram Nath Kovind.
Lalu, on the other hand, trained guns on Nitish Kumar, saying Bihar chief minister had committed a "historical mistake" by extending support to Kovind.
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