Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s proposal to form a united front and work toward making an RSS-free India evoked a lukewarm response from the Congress.
The party neither endorsed nor rejected Mr. Kumar’s idea. Treading a cautious line, the party spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala told The Hindu that though a grand alliance of the Janata Dal(U) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal, along with the Congress, did help defeat the BJP in Bihar, it was too early to talk of repeating such an experiment at the national level.
“Nitish Kumar is a seasoned politician and we did have an alliance with him in Bihar and we respect it. But to have something like that at the national level, it’s the Congress Working Committee that takes the final call after consulting the State-level leadership across the country. We are yet to initiate that process,” Mr. Surjewala said.
Opportunistic: BJPReacting to Mr.Kumar’s call, the BJP labelled the proposal as “opportunistic” and devoid of any vision for national development or making India a great nation.
Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi took a dig at Mr. Kumar, saying those who once claimed allegiance to Ram Manohar Lohia’s anti-Congressism had now taken a U-turn and were supporting the Congress.
The Minister said that while anti-Congressism had a rationale, there was none for an anti-BJP front, as the BJP government was working for the nation and the poor.
Backs RSSDefending the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the BJP’s ideological mentor, party secretary Shrikant Sharma said: “Before criticising, these leaders should understand the ideology of the Sangh. The Sangh has worked selflessly for India’s unity, integrity and harmony within the country.”
“In reality, Rahul Gandhi, Nitish Kumar and Arvind Kejriwal are unable to see the good work done by the Modi government or India’s strides as a global power because of their political selfishness and greed,” Mr. Sharma said.
