Rally Row: JD(U) and BJP Target Congress Strategy

A war of words has broken out in Bihar over the INDIA bloc's proposed rally in Delhi. The JD(U) and the BJP have criticised the Congress and Rahul Gandhi, questioning both the timing and the purpose of the protest.

JD(U) national spokesperson Rajiv Ranjan said Rahul Gandhi was developing a tendency to force his opinions on others. He claimed the Congress was stuck in a rigid stance and had little room to disagree with its leadership.

Ranjan said trade organisations had requested Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi during the festive season to reconsider the date of the agitation. Protests on roads at such a time, he warned, could create serious problems for ordinary people and businesses.

According to him, if a movement is claimed to serve the public good but the public disagrees with its approach or dates, the party should be willing to revise its plans. He questioned why the Congress was resisting such a reasonable change.

Ranjan also took aim at the protest model itself. He noted that the slogan 'Sadak se Sansad tak' once inspired people during the party's struggle years. Now, he said, the Congress was attempting to move Parliament onto the streets and was making a mockery of parliamentary business.

He further stated that the Supreme Court was already hearing petitions about the working of the Chief Election Commissioner and the Election Commission. In that light, he said, a protest of this nature raised questions about the party's faith in the judicial system, adding that such moves had pushed the Congress into its most challenging phase.

Union minister Ramkripal Yadav added his own sharp comment, asking who would answer the Congress's call to travel to Delhi. He predicted the rally would turn out to be a flop. Rallies, he argued, did not change much, because the people's decision came out through the ballot. He cited the recent Legislative Council elections, saying the Congress had been eliminated without a single win and that the public had already turned its back on the party.

BJP leader Mrityunjay Tiwari dismissed the INDIA bloc as a 'Thagbandhan' and asked opposition parties to fix their own situation before speaking of impeachment. He further accused Rahul Gandhi and the opposition of alleging vote theft whenever they lost elections and of spreading doubt about constitutional bodies.