Saamana editorial slams Bihar CM Nitish Kumar for returning to NDA

Shiv Sena (UBT) mouthpiece Saamana in its editorial has criticised Bihar CM Nitish Kumar for returning to NDA fold.

Saamana in its latest editorial on Monday said that Nitish Kumar, who took oath as the Chief Minister of Bihar with the support of the BJP, was the one who took initiative in uniting all anti-Bharatiya Janata Party forces together and called the first meeting of the opposition's alliance in Patna.

After a dramatic volte-face, ditching the Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) and the INDIA bloc and forming a new government with the BJP, JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar along with eight ministers took oath on Sunday.

"After the formation of the 'INDIA' bloc, it seemed that Kumar would lead the national leadership. Opposition parties should unite and fight against the dictatorship of the BJP. For this, Kumar took the initiative to bring everyone together and called the first meeting of all anti-BJP forces in Patna and made it successful. Nitish in that meeting gave a speech saying that the country is in crisis, the Constitution is in danger, Central investigative agencies are being misused and it is in the national interest that we all should put aside our differences and come together to protect democracy. Such allegorical views were presented by Kumar in Patna. Later he participated in meetings in Bangalore, Mumbai, and Delhi," Saamana wrote in the editorial.

"He (Nitish) was determined to keep fighting the BJP and the Sangh Parivar till the end, but that determination has now been exposed and Nitish Kumar has switched sides," it added.

INDIA or 'Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance' is a group of opposition parties, including the Congress. The parties have come together to take on the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which is led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and prevent it from winning a third straight term at the Centre in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

The first meeting of the alliance was convened in Patna in June last year and the second two-day meeting was held a month later in Bengaluru, where the acronym INDIA was christened.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) mouthpiece said that while there is 'Ram' in Ayodhya, there is a 'Palturam' in Bihar, referring to Kumar's switching sides in less than 18 months again.

Of the eight ministers who were sworn in along with Kumar were three each from the BJP and the JD-U, one from HAM and one independent.

Among the Ministers sworn in were Samrat Chowdhary, Vijay Kumar Sinha and Prem Kumar (BJP), Bijendra Prasad Yadav, Vijay Kumar Chowdhary and Shrawan Kumar (JD-U), Santosh Suman (HAM-S and son of Jitan Ram Manjhi) and Sumit Kumar Singh (Independent).