Making a strong pitch during the extended Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting in poll-bound Bihar, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said Wednesday the “internal discord” within the NDA is now out in the open, and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar “has been mentally retired by the BJP”, who has become “a liability”.
Kharge also mentioned the recent order by the Uttar Pradesh Government banning caste-based political rallies, and said that it was the “most bizarre” thing done by the UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, “who considers himself the successor to the Prime Minister”. “He previously wrote an article opposing reservations. Now he has banned rallies held in the name of castes,” said Kharge during his opening remarks at the extended CWC meeting in Patna.
“Will the Prime Minister tell the country that on the one hand, we are all talking about conducting a caste census, and on the other hand, your Chief Minister is talking about putting in jail those people who come out on the streets against the injustice and atrocities being committed against them,” said Kharge.
Speaking at the meeting of the Congress’s highest decision-making body, Kharge said that 80 per cent of Bihar’s population belongs to the OBC, EBC, and SC/ST communities, and that the “public wants transparency in caste census and reservation policies”.
“The Congress and Rahul Gandhi have pressured the Central Government to conduct a caste census. A caste survey was also conducted in Bihar during the tenure of the Congress-led Grand Alliance government,” said Kharge.
He “asked” Prime Minister Narendra Modi “what compelled him to deny constitutional protection to the 65 per cent reservation passed by the government for the people of Bihar”. “History bears witness that the Congress government, 30 years ago, granted constitutional protection to the 69 per cent reservation for the people of Tamil Nadu,” said Kharge.
‘Bihar’s reconstruction’
Targeting the Nitish Kumar-led government in Bihar, Kharge said the government and administration “have been on hiatus for a long time”.
“The people of Bihar do not want the BJP’s religious polarisation. They want development-focused politics. They demand fundamental and long-term solutions from their government. They want the right to development, employment, social justice, and good governance, and this is what the Congress Party demands,” said Kharge, who is also the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha.
On the upcoming Bihar polls, Kharge said: “The Assembly elections will prove to be a milestone not only for Bihar but for the entire country. This will mark the beginning of the countdown and the end of the corrupt rule of the Modi government.”
Kharge said he wanted to start the process for “Bihar’s reconstruction” from Patna, and added: “The Congress, along with its alliance partners, will provide employment, education, health, social justice, and good governance to the people of Bihar.”
The Congress is holding the first meeting of the CWC in the poll-bound state since 1940. With an eye on the Bihar elections, the Congress has, however, said the CWC meeting was not just about the state, but about the whole country.
