Nitish, Rahul discuss case against tejashwi

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday met Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and discussed the corruption charges levelled against his deputy, TejashwiYadav.

In their 40-minute one-on-one, Nitish apparently told Rahul that though he was in no mood to break the alliance, he could not appear to be compromising on his stand on providing a clean government.

Rahul, for his part, is understood to have told Nitish about the Congress’ view that RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s son Tejashwi should not be sacked just because an FIR was filed against him at the “instance” of the Narendra Modi government.

The CBI has accused Tejashwi of owning benami properties. Nitish reportedly told Rahul that Tejashwi’s continuance in the state Cabinet was a difficult proposition, which his party wanted resolved before the Assembly session begins on July 28.

According to a source, Nitish indicated that Tejashwi’s continuance would dent his government’s “anti-corruption” image.

Their discussion came against the backdrop of reports that Nitish was not happy with the Congress’ vocal support for Lalu.

Nitish’s meeting with Rahul was described by the Congress as long overdue as senior party leaders, including party president Sonia Gandhi, were trying to prevent cracks in the grand alliance.