Sharad Yadav calls Nitish Kumar selfish, betrayer

JD-U rebel leader and former party President Sharad Yadav on Tuesday called Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar a "selfish" person and a "betrayer" for breaking the Grand Alliance and forming a new government with the BJP.

"Nitish Kumar is 'swarthi' (selfish) and 'vishwashghati' (betrayer). He has no principles or ideology," Sharad Yadav said while addressing public meetings in Rohtas and Kaimur districts during the second phase of his campaign that he launched in Bihar on Monday "to expose Nitish Kumar's game plan".

The rebel Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader has alleged that Nitish Kumar joined hands with communal forces -- Bharatiya Janata Party -- after dumping the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) "to guard his own interests".

He said Nitish Kumar had changed after taking vows to fight against communal forces. "Nitish Kumar is solely responsible for breaking the Grand Alliance in Bihar and for giving chance to the BJP to rule despite being voted to be in the opposition."

He recalled that the Grand Alliance in Bihar was formed with much difficulty following an overwhelming support of people. It was a success as it defeated the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in 2015 Bihar assembly polls.

Sharad Yadav is now on a four-day visit to six districts in Bihar, including Bhojpur, Gaya, Buxar, Aurangabad and Jehanabad.

He is scheduled to address 29 public meetings during his visit.

Yadav reiterated that he was still with the Grand Alliance of the RJD and the Congress.

"The decision to join hands with the BJP and form a government in Bihar was against the mandate given by one crore people in the 2015 assembly election... against the BJP-led NDA," he said.

"BJP-led NDA has cheated people in the last three-and-half years. The NDA government at the Centre has totally failed to do anything. Poor people have been hit hard and farmers are protesting," he said.

Earlier, speaking in Buxar district, Sharad Yadav said that people would teach a lesson to Nitish Kumar in 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

--IANS

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