"People of Bihar won't forgive Nitish Kumar this time": Congress' Tariq Anwar

Katihar: Congress leader Tariq Anwar on Sunday slammed Bihar CM Nitish Kumar after he joined NDA to form a new government and said that the people of Bihar won't forgive Nitish this time, adding "Bihar's image has suffered a blow".
Bringing closure to the fast-unravelling political events earlier in the day, Nitish handed his resignation letter to Governor Rajendra Arlekar along with letters of support from the BJP legislators.
"We have faced such challenges several times. The Opposition is strong here. RJD, Congress and Left will face this challenge together and I think the people of Bihar won't forgive Nitish Kumar this time. The people of Bihar are being toyed with. They are being mocked. Bihar's image has suffered a blow," Tariq Anwar said.
"We hope that the people of Bihar will make a decision with a lot of deliberation this time and reject such parties and leaders who act against their sentiments," he added.
It is understood that Nitish will take oath as the CM for the ninth time along with two deputy chief ministers from the BJP at the swearing-in ceremony on Sunday.
The oath-taking ceremony is scheduled to be held at 5 in the evening. The BJP and the JD(U) are keen to avoid a power vacuum in a state notorious for its political realignments.
Tej Pratap Yadavm son-in-law of RJD chief Lala Prasad Yadav said that Nitish Kumar took this decision under immense pressure.
"Rashtriya Janata Dal and Grand Alliance parties made every effort to fight the BJP with complete unity, yet Nitish Kumar took such a decision. If yes, then there must have been some pressure on him. Till now they have not been able to give any concrete reason for leaving the grand alliance, the way BJP party is breaking other parties, earlier on the same lines as they did in Maharashtra, they took JDU into their fold," he said.
Expressing confidence in Tejaswi Yadav, Tej Pratap said that the full support of the people of Bihar is with Tejashwi and RJD.
"He has given jobs for which he will go to the public. This time in Bihar, the largest party Rashtriya Janata Dal will get the maximum seats," he added.
Earlier, in his first reaction to the political turmoil after tendering his resignation letter to the Governor, Nitish Kumar said the state of affairs in the 'Mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance) formed one and a half years ago was 'not good'.
Nitish Kumar, after parting ways with the BJP in 2022, took on the initiative of uniting all opposition forces to jointly take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling party in the national election.