'BJP Never Betrays, It Destabilizes State Govts For Stability': Chidambaram On Bihar Political Crisis

Chidambaram mockingly presented the "motivation" of the BJP's operating system in a tweet, saying that the party "never betrays the people of a state."

New Delhi: As Nitish Kumar prepares to assume office as Bihar's chief minister today forging an alliance with Mahagathbandhan after abruptly severing relations with the NDA on Tuesday, Congress leader P Chidambaram attacked BJP claiming that the saffron party attempts to break other political parties, it does so in order to "purify" them.

Chidambaram mockingly presented the "motivation" of the BJP's operating system in a tweet, saying that the party "never betrays the people of a state."

Prior to leaving the NDA, Nitish Kumar said that the BJP was attempting to fracture the JD(U) in order to avoid a situation similar to the one in Maharashtra.

In response to the BJP's claim that Nitish Kumar's move betrays the people's mandate for the JD(U)-BJP coalition in 2020, Chidambaram sarcastically said that the BJP never acts in a way that betrays the state of the people. 

He stated: "One, encouraging defections from other parties is a welfare measure to uplift the defectors. Two, breaking other political parties is to purge those parties. Three, destabilising state governments is to bring stability to governance in these states. Four, opening investigations against opposition leaders is to test the effectiveness of laws passed by Parliament so that the laws can be more weaponized. Five, Congress mukt Bharat is to strengthen democracy through one-party rule like China, Russia, Turkiye, Vietnam & North Korea."

The Mahagathbandhan is set to return with four cabinet positions for Congress. Nitish Kumar is reportedly yet to accede to the party's request for the Speaker of the State Assembly position.

After quitting as chief minister, Kumar reportedly talked with both Sonia Gandhi, the head of the Congress, and Rahul Gandhi, news agency PTI reported.

In the 243-member Bihar Assembly, the Congress is represented by 19 MLAs, the JD(U) by 45, the RJD by 79, the CPI(ML) by 12, and the CPI and CPI(M) by two each.

In Bihar, the Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), led by Jitan Ram Manjhi, has four MLAs compared to the BJP's 77. One Independent MLA serves in the House, and one seat is open.