NDA’s Bihar Manifesto Launch Sparks Row as Nitish Kumar Stays Silent, Congress Takes a Dig
Ashok Gehlot calls NDA’s brief presser a “dangerous sign for democracy”, says Nitish Kumar’s silence shows lack of conviction in the alliance’s promises.
Patna, Oct 31 — The Congress took a sharp dig at the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) after its unusually brief 26 second press conference to release the Bihar election manifesto, questioning Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s silence during the event.
Senior Congress leader and Bihar poll observer Ashok Gehlot criticised the NDA, saying, “JP Nadda, CM Nitish Kumar and other leaders came for just 26 seconds. Media people told me this is the first time they’ve seen such a short press conference. They got scared and ran away.”
Gehlot said the release of an election manifesto is a moment of accountability and accused the NDA of showing “fear of the media and questions.” Calling the move a “dangerous sign for democracy,” he alleged that the NDA “does not believe in democracy.”
The Congress leader also questioned why Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary, and not Nitish Kumar, read out the manifesto. “Was Nitish Kumar not in a position to speak about it?” Gehlot asked, calling the NDA manifesto a “string of lies.”
Congress MP Akhilesh Prasad Yadav echoed similar sentiments, saying that Nitish Kumar’s silence was “disrespectful to Bihar and Biharis.”
The NDA’s manifesto includes major promises ahead of the November 6 and 11 assembly polls including over one crore government jobs, ₹2 lakh financial aid for women, a legal guarantee for the minimum support price (MSP) for farmers, “Lakhpati Didis” scheme, and mega skill centres in every district.
Bihar will see a fierce contest between the NDA comprising BJP, JD(U), LJP(RV), HAM(S), and RLM and the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance), with results to be declared on November 14.
