NEW DELHI: Rahul Gandhi today did not hold back as he lashed out at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for switching sides and sneered that "netas" do anything for power. "This is the problem with Indian politics...people will do anything for their personal gains they do anything for power ," the Congress Vice President told reporters.
Nitish Kumar took oath for the sixth time today after reuniting with the BJP, a party he had snapped ties with in 2013 over the elevation of Narendra Modi as its top face.
Last evening, he resigned abruptly, dumping the grand coalition he had formed with Lalu Yadav and the Congress after winning the Bihar election in 2015.
His stunning move followed days of churning over all lalu Yadav refusal to agree to son Tejashwi's removal as deputy chief minister over corruption charges.
Mr Rahul Gandhi said: "We knew this planning was going on for three-four months. In politics, you get to know what's in a person's mind. I was aware of the conspiracy."
He accused Nitish Kumar of betraying the "people's mandate for anti-communal politics" by joining hands with the BJP.
After his resignation, Nitish Kumar had referred to his recent meeting with Mr Gandhi and said he was disappointed that "nothing happened" after he sought the Congress leader's intervention on the Tejashwi Yadav row.
"I met Rahul Gandhi who had torn an ordinance that sought to enable people sentenced to more than two years in jail to contest elections. But except for some superficial talk, nothing happened," Mr Kumar said.
Commenting that he had "knocked every door" to salvage the alliance, Mr Kumar said: "I heard the voice of my conscience and decided to pull myself out of this coalition."
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