Rahul Gandhi tries to pacify Nitish Kumar, admits mistakes

New Delhi: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday stepped in to patch up the cracks threatening Opposition unity by trying to pacify Nitish Kumar, JD(U) chief and Bihar chief minister.

Keen on stopping Mr Kumar’s drift towards the saffron camp, Mr Gandhi has reportedly admitted to “miscommunication” over GST and presidential polls and urged the JD(U) to stand united with the Opposition on vice-presidential elections.

Mr Kumar was upset with the Congress for keeping him and his party in the dark over presidential polls and its decision to boycott the midnight launch of GST on June 30.

Things got worse when senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad accused Mr Kumar of political and ideological opportunism following his announcement that he would back the NDA’s presidential candidate and not the Opposition’s nominee.

Mr Kumar also admonished the Opposition alliance for fielding “Bihar ki beti” Meira Kumar despite certain defeat.

Mr Gandhi, who was abroad and arrived in India on July 1, indicated to his partymen that they should work to strengthen Opposition unity, “not weaken it.” He has asked Congress leaders to refrain from targeting Mr Kumar and is likely to meet him soon. Ashok Chowdhury, Bihar state education minister and Congress leader, who was summoned by Mr Gandhi on Tuesday following a dip in the state’s pass percentage, also briefed him about the prevailing rift between Congress and the JD(U).

Congress is the junior-most member, in terms of seats, in the Bihar Grand Alliance or Mahagathbandhan government. That the Congress has decided to go soft on JD(U) after a raging war of words between the two became clear when party spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi described the rift as “minor static in a closed issue” on Monday. He said that the issue of presidential polls was over and “had nothing to do with the grand alliance in Bihar.” The relations between JD(U) and the Congress became strained over the last couple of weeks with leaders of both parties attacking each other.

On Sunday, Mr Kumar accused the Congress of “dumping Mahatma Gandhi’s ideology,” and a day later he made it clear that the JD(U) would not allow Congress play “big brother”.

“We do not follow anyone. We are clear with our ideology,” he had said on Monday.