D Raja says Nitish among top INDIA bloc leader, stresses 'desh bachao, BJP hatao' I.N.D.I.A bloc's common resolve

Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is among the "top leaders" of the I.N.D.I.A bloc, CPI general secretary D Raja said on Tuesday.

However, he side-stepped queries about the JD(U) president being considered for a "bigger role".

Addressing a press conference here, Raja, who had met Kumar on Monday evening, asserted that the I.N.D.I.A constituents were in favour of declaring a prime ministerial candidate "after we win the Lok Sabha elections", recalling the similar experiment that was undertaken when the United Front government was installed in the 1990s.

Asked whether declaring Kumar the "convenor" would have been better for the coalition formed less than a year ago, the CPI leader said, "That is a perception, but I can assure you that not doing so is not going to be a hurdle in achieving cohesiveness in the alliance."

"Nitish Kumar is undoubtedly one of our top leaders in the INDIA coalition. He is very experienced," said Raja, who stopped short of directly engaging with queries about assigning a leading role to the longest-serving Bihar CM, the clamour for which has been growing strong in the JD(U).

Asked about seat-sharing in the INDIA bloc, Raja said, "Our party (CPI) is a force to reckon with in Bihar and the rest of the country. But when we sit for negotiations, our thrust will be on striking a deal which accommodates all partners well and ensures our victory."

He claimed to have stressed the same when he met Kumar and had a telephonic conversation with Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav, who belongs to RJD.

To the repeated averments by JD(U) leaders that time was running out in finalising the seat-sharing formula, Raja said, "I do not think we are getting late. There is no yardstick to measure the speed at which such things should take place. But we will decide everything in good time."

Asked whether he planned to join Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during the 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' which is scheduled to commence next week, the CPI general secretary said, "I had joined him at Srinagar for the previous Bharat Jodo Yatra on being invited. I may get invited again."

Raja claimed that the INDIA coalition had made the ruling BJP at the Centre "jittery", causing "even the prime minister and the Union home minister to hurl abuses against us" and alleged that "central investigating agencies were being used to intimidate our partners".

"The BJP has to be defeated (in the 2024 polls) to save the nation. Hence, the common resolve of the INDIA bloc is 'desh bachao, BJP hatao'. All constituents of the alliance have resolved to collectively fight and defeat the saffron party.

"INDIA bloc is confident that the BJP government will be removed from power in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The forces that are attacking the Constitution and spreading politics of hate must be defeated," he said.

Referring to the Supreme Court judgement on remission granted to convicts in the Bilkis Bano gang rape case, he alleged that the verdict has "exposed the fraud of the BJP and is an indictment on the Gujarat government and also the Narendra Modi government at the Centre".

"Modi had risen to power with the promise of creating two crore jobs every year. After 10 years, they cannot say where are the 20 crore jobs which should have been created by now. Only some of the super rich like (Gautam) Adani have thrived under this regime," the CPI leader alleged.

"To distract people, Modi is now speaking about his elusive guarantees about everything. And since the BJP's parent body RSS had no role to play in 1947, when India achieved Independence, he wants us to think of 2047, forgetting what we are experiencing now," he added.