CPI MP blames Congress for Mahagathbandhan's rout in Bihar

New Delhi, Nov 24 (PTI) CPI MP P Sandosh Kumar on Monday held Congress responsible for Mahagathbandhan's rout in Bihar, blaming it for not being able to coordinate all forces in the state. He also said that his party would try to emerge as a ‘third front’ in the state.

Asked about the Bihar results, Kumar, a Rajya Sabha MP, said while the top brass of the Congress came for campaigning in Bihar, they were “not interested” in coordinating all the forces, and also pointed towards the “friendly fights” that happened among the Mahagathbandhan partners.

Replying to a query about the upcoming Parliament session, he told PTI that the INDIA bloc remains together, but also blamed the Congress for not being able to coordinate with the opposition parties in raising issues during Parliament sessions.

“The Mahagathbandhan as such was not a force… A fight between these political parties took place... Congress is one of the major reasons, because being the single-largest party in the opposition sides, they could have done better. So they did not take any initiative,” he said.

“Priyanka, Rahul Gandhi, and all the top brass of the Congress had gone there for campaign, but at the same time they were not that much interested in coordinating all forces. So, these people were responsible for the debacle of Mahagathbandhan. And in fact, we could have performed better, but because of this lethargic approach of the Congress party – they contested against CPI on four seats, they contested against RJD on many seats…” he said.

Kumar said apart from other major reasons like SIR and Rs 10,000 for women under the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana, many attempts were made to influence the voters.

“But when we talk about the other factors, Congress’ inaction or inability to coordinate secular forces is one of the major reasons… At least the performance could have been better,” he said. He said the CPI, which was a major force in Bihar in the past, needs to “introspect and chalk out an action plan”.

“I hope the CPI will act as a third front in Bihar in the coming days. Third front in the sense that of course there are two powerful fronts, and the CPI is of course part of the Mahagathbandhan as of now. But to raise various pro-people issues in the coming days in Bihar, which even Mahagathbandhan cannot raise,” he said.

“The CPI has that capacity, its political vision is clear and we have done it in Bihar in the past. So personally, my aspiration is to make it a big, huge, upcoming alternative force in the land of Bihar,” he said.

“To raise probable issues like unemployment and caste atrocities, price rise, and other developmental issues, we will be acting as a third front. And on the question of secularism and there are other issues which confront us, there we will be part of the Mahagatbandhan,” he said.

Asked about the upcoming Winter Session of Parliament, and whether the INDIA bloc would raise issues together, he said the INDIA bloc remains intact despite the “disturbances”.

“Of course there are differences of opinion… in Maharashtra, something happened in Bihar…. Now in the coming period, we have to take into account other realities also. Because elections are now due in Bengal, Tamil Nadu and many other Indian states. So, we will try our level best to coordinate all these forces,” he said.

“The Parliament will be a forum to coordinate all these forces. That's what I hope for. But it all depends on the Congress party… They unilaterally announce programmes. They unilaterally make some decisions. And it seems that the Congress is not that much invested in coordinating these forces nowadays,” Kumar said.

He stressed that it is his “personal observation”, and added, “But the INDIA alliance as such will continue its fights, hopefully, in Parliament”.

Asked about the upcoming session, he said parties have been invited for a ‘ritualistic’ all-party meeting.

“There will be an all-party meeting before the session... It's a ritualistic exercise only because whatever we raise on that day, they cannot be included in the agenda. And moreover, this has lost its importance also. The government will speak about some agendas, will distribute some papers mentioning the Bills to be introduced…” he said. “But finally, on the penultimate day or a couple of days before the end, they may introduce new kind of Bills. That is what happened in the last session. The 130th Constitutional Amendment Bill was a rude shock to all of us,” he said. PTI AO AO MNK MNK