Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who departed from the Mahagathbandhan to align with the BJP-led NDA last week, has said that he had advised the Congress and other opposition parties against labeling the political group as INDIA.Bihar CM Nitish Kumar who is also the JD(U) national President tried to justify his decision to join the NDA citing the Opposition’s inaction in finalizing the seat-sharing arrangement among the alliance partners. “I urged them to finalize a different name for the alliance, but it seems that they had already made the decision. Despite my persistent efforts, they didn’t do anything. Even today they have not finalized seat sharing among the alliance partners. This is the reason I chose to part ways and return to where I was earlier. I will continue to work and serve the people of Bihar”, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said in Patna. He also used the occasion to sharply criticize Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his remark on caste-based survey in Bihar. Mr. Kumar said that Rahul Gandhi was trying to take false credit over the entire issue. He said that the people of Bihar are aware of how the JD(U) initiated the move and conducted the survey in the state by consulting nine political parties. “Has he forgotten when the caste-based survey was conducted? I consulted with nine political parties before the survey was conducted in the state. I constantly discussed and addressed the issue on every forum right from the assembly to public meetings. Now he is trying to take false credit. I can’t do anything when people start saying such things”, Nitish Kumar said. He also exuded confidence that the NDA will easily pass the floor test ahead of the budget session in the Bihar assembly on February 10. The budget session is scheduled to begin on February 12 in Bihar. On Sunday Nitish Kumar left the RJD-Congress-led grand alliance and joined hands with the BJP-led NDA in Bihar. He was sworn in as the Chief Minister on the same day alongside BJP’s Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Sinha as his Deputy Chief Ministers. Nitish Kumar had played a crucial role in uniting 28 opposition parties under one umbrella to corner the BJP in the coming Lok Sabha elections.
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