Nitish Kumar trying to mend bond with RJD: BJP

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday said that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is drifting away from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and therefore, is trying to mend the alliance.

"I feel Nitish Kumar is slowly drifting away from RJD, therefore, he is trying to mend the bond. I am not saying that he is going to solve their alliance but on various issues in the past, Nitish Kumar has taken an independent stand," BJP leader S. Prakash told ANI.

He added that the Congress is a very junior partner in the alliance and it was because of Nitish Kumar that the party was able to win 27 seats in Bihar.

Earlier yesterday, Kumar said he would attend the latter's proposed anti-BJP rally next month in which many parties are likely to participate.

He said that he would attend the August 27 'BJP Hatao, Desh Bachao' rally if the RJD invited him, ending days of speculation that JD (U) might boycott the event owing to their differences over the support of presidential candidates.

Previously, on Saturday, the ties between the two allies hit a new low after JD (U) general secretary Shyam Rajak said the party would not take part in the RJD rally.

"Congress has given up Mahatma Gandhi's path. They (Congress) have also ditched Jawaharlal Nehru's ideologies," said Kumar.

Kumar criticised BJP, emphasising that the JD (U) would not be a part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) again.

He said the saffron party had nothing to do with the country's freedom movement and yet it was now ruling the country.