BJP-RSS will dump Nitish where garbage is dumped: Kharge in Patna

Patna: In a scathing attack on Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday said the JD(U) chief used to talk of socialism once but then "fell into the lap" of the BJP-RSS that will dump him "where garbage is dumped".

Kharge alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is attempting to win the Bihar Assembly polls through "vote chori" (vote theft), and asserted that the BJP-led NDA's "double-engine" government would be voted out soon with a new government of the poor, backwards and Dalits being formed.

Targeting Kumar, Kharge said, "Once upon a time, he used to go around and talk about socialism and praise Ram Manohar Lohia and George Fernandes and others. Where did those socialist ideas go? Now you have gone and fallen into the lap of the BJP-RSS."

"This BJP-RSS will dump you where garbage is dumped," the Congress president said, launching a sharp attack on the Janata Dal (United) chief.

His remarks came after INDIA bloc constituents held a march marking the culmination of the "Vote Adhikar Yatra" led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other Mahagathbandhan leaders that covered 1,300 kilometres and passed through 110 Assembly constituencies, covering 25 of the 38 districts in Bihar ahead of the upcoming state election.

"This Voter Adhikar Yatra was discussed throughout the country. There were attempts to disrupt it but people of Bihar and the Mahagathbandhan did not back down," Kharge said.

"Modi is attempting to win the Bihar polls through vote chori. Be alert. If you are not alert, Modi and (Amit) Shah will suppress you," he claimed.

"This double-engine government will not be there after a few months and the new government that will be formed will be of the poor, women, Dalits and backwards," the Congress chief said.

The "Gandhi se Ambedkar" march marking the culmination of the "Vote Adhikar Yatra" was stopped midway by police at the Dak Bungalow crossing here. The leaders participating in the march addressed a gathering at the Dak Bungalow crossing.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav, Vikassheel Insan Party (VIP) chief Mukesh Sahani, CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby, CPI's Annie Raja, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Yusuf Pathan, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut and other leaders of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) were among those present.

The march started with the INDIA bloc leaders offering floral tributes at the statue of Mahatma Gandhi here.

The "Voter Adhikar Yatra", launched by Rahul Gandhi from Sasaram on August 17, aimed to highlight the alleged assault on people's right to vote through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar.