Opposition parties slam Nitish for repeated political somersaults

New Delhi/Patna/Kolkata/Chennai: Opposition parties, including the Congress, RJD, TMC and DMK, on Sunday reacted sharply to JDU president Nitish Kumar's volte-face calling him chameleon and garbage. DMK said the veteran leader has lost his integrity.

The Congress on Sunday compared Kumar to a "chameleon", and said the people of the state will never forgive him for his "betrayal".

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said they already knew about Kumar's decision to leave the alliance but had not said anything to help keep the INDIA bloc together.

"Many people like 'Aaya Ram-Gaya Ram' are in the country. Earlier he and I were fighting together. When I talked to Lalu ji and Tejashwi ji, they also said that Nitish is going," Kharge said.

'Aaya Ram Gaya Ram' was an expression used widely in politics in the 1990s referring to the frequent floor-crossing and switching of parties.

Lashing out at Kumar, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said it is clear that a "political drama" is being created to divert attention from the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.

He said it is clear that the prime minister and the BJP are "scared" of the Yatra being undertaken by Rahul Gandhi, which is set to enter Bihar soon.

In an apparent dig at Kumar, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad's daughter Rohini Acharya said the "garbage has gone into the dustbin".

"Garbage goes back into the dustbin. Happy stinking garbage to the group", Acharya posted on 'X'.

Later, the RJD claimed that Acharya's social media posts were aimed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and not Bihar CM Nitish Kumar.

Kumar's exit from the Mahagathbandhan alliance and the INDIA bloc was a "loss" for the saffron party and a "gain" for the opposition alliance, Tamil Nadu's ruling DMK said on Sunday.

DMK spokesperson J Constandine Ravindran said, "People will never accept this act of betrayal. Though Kumar is a veteran leader in Bihar, he has completely lost credibility. He has no integrity," he said.

"Nitish Kumar leaving the INDIA bloc is a gain for us (opposition alliance) and a loss for the BJP. People will teach a lesson to Nitish Kumar at the right time," Ravindran said.

Trinamool Congress also slammed his political U-turns. "Nitish Kumar is known for his political somersaults at regular intervals. It is unfortunate that he has decided to quit the opposition grouping INDIA and is likely to join the NDA. The people will give a befitting reply to such political opportunism," Trinamool Congress MP Sougata Roy said.

"It is not good politically if an ally leaves you. But, such things do happen in politics, people come and go. So, it is not a jolt," he said.

Surprisingly, BJP MP from West Bengal Dilip Ghosh said there must be an end to political opportunism. "A politician usually takes oath as CM once during a five-year term. But Nitish Kumar is such a politician, who takes oath at least twice or thrice during a five-year term, and that too from different camps each time," he said. "I think this is political opportunism and it is high time that such things must stop," he added.