Nitish Kumar's "Faltu" Retort After Rahul Gandhi's Caste Census Jab

In a sharp response to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's remarks on the Bihar caste survey, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today accused the Congress MP of trying to take credit for something he has not done.

"Isse badhkar koi faltu cheez hai? (Can there be a more nonsensical claim?) Has he forgotten when the caste census happened? I conducted it in the presence of nine parties. In 2019-2020, I would talk about caste census everywhere, from assembly to public meetings. I also met the Prime Minister. I did it. They (Congress) were on the other side then. If someone tries to take false credit... Let it be," Mr Kumar told the media this morning.

In a scathing attack on the Bihar Chief Minister, days after he parted ways with the RJD and Congress and rejoined the NDA, Mr Gandhi claimed that Mr Kumar wriggled out of the Opposition bloc because he felt "trapped" after the caste survey.

"You need to understand that Nitish Kumar was feeling trapped after the Congress and RJD ensured that a caste survey was held. The BJP provided him with a way out," he said at a rally in Bihar's Purnea. The Congress MP is now in Bihar for the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Congress's last-ditch attempt to rally support for the Lok Sabha polls.

The Bihar Chief Minister doubled down on his earlier charge that there was no forward movement within the INDIA bloc for the upcoming elections. "I was trying so hard. They did not do even one thing. Till today, they haven't decided which party will contest how many seats. This is why I left them and came back to who I was with initially. I will keep working for the people of Bihar," said Mr Kumar, who was at the forefront of bringing Opposition parties under one umbrella to take on the formidable BJP.

Mr Kumar's party, Janata Dal United, has accused the Congress of trying to hijack the Opposition bloc. Soon after Mr Kumar's switch, senior JDU leader KC Tyagi accused the Congress of disrupting the seat-sharing process and making disproportionate demands on allies. "Congress kept dragging the seat sharing, we kept saying that seat sharing needs to happen immediately. INDIA lacked plans to fight against BJP," Mr Tyagi said.

Mr Kumar also hit back at his former deputy and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav's remarks on the work done by the JDU-RJD government after it took over in 2022 -- after Mr Kumar's last flip-flop.

"The CM who used to say that it is impossible to give jobs, we gave jobs and showed that it is possible. We brought new policies in tourism, IT, and sports. The work that was done in 17 months could not be done in 17 years (of BJP-JDU rule). We did historic work in the 17 months," Mr Yadav had said.

Asked about the remarks, Mr Kumar said, "How can we forget the days before 2005?" He was referring to the corruption- and crime-tainted regime of RJD rule under Lalu Prasad Yadav.