New Delhi, Sept. 5: A deep sense of frustration and helplessness has gripped Congress leaders from Bihar as they feel there is no initiative at all to prevent the imminent split in the legislature party despite the high command being in the know of the 'sinister' operation.
A large number of Congress leaders from Bihar are camping in Delhi to plead with the high command to close the stable door before the horse bolts but they have received little else than apathetic responses. 'Nobody is interested. We don't know how this party will survive. We may all be aiding with the Modi-Shah agenda of a Congress-mukt Bharat,' a senior leader told The Telegraph .
Senior leaders have been informed by these people that the operation to 'steal' MLAs for chief minister Nitish Kumar was still being implemented despite Sonia Gandhi warning Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee chief Ashok Choudhary and Congress Legislature Party leader Sadanand Singh at a meeting in Delhi last week. 'Even today one MLA was approached, offered money and a JDU ticket in the next election,' one leader said, lamenting that these loyal MLAs had been given no protection.
While Sonia Gandhi does not meet anybody these days - some Bihar leaders are still trying to seek an appointment in vain - Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi too hasn't met them so far. They have been running from pillar to post, knocking at the doors of Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ahmed Patel, A.K. Antony, Oscar Fernandes, C.P. Joshi, Mukul Wasnik, K. Raju... with desperate pleas for effective intervention. They have suggested a pre-emptive action, beginning with the decision to de-fang the key saboteurs, and are aghast that dithering continues.
Asked about the perception of Bihar leaders that the high command was not doing enough to salvage the situation, Joshi, the general secretary in charge of the state, told The Telegraph: 'I don't want to comment on this.'
The leaders and senior legislators who have come to Delhi on this mission over the past few days include: Akhilesh Singh, Vijay Shankar Dubey, Prem Chandra Mishra, Madan Mohan Jha, Ashok Ram, Ramdev Rai, Kishore Kumar Jha etc. Surprisingly, other senior leaders from Bihar such as Meira Kumar, Shakeel Ahmed and Nikhil Kumar have kept completely aloof from the entire drama.
Party sources said the high command has presumed that a firm warning from Sonia, Ahmed Patel and Ghulam Nabi Azad might have busted the plot and refused to analyse negative messages coming from Patna since then. 'So convinced is the central leadership of its success that Azad went to Bihar today to survey flood-hit Kishanganj. This can be done only by ignoring the larger deluge that is about to sink the party,' another leader said.
One leader explained the irony of politics in Bihar: 'Our central leadership should take note that Ashok Choudhary and Sadanand Singh have not spoken a word against Nitish Kumar after he broke the Grand Alliance to embrace the BJP. Even on gross mismanagement after floods, they remained silent. On the other hand, Nitish Kumar is saying Lalu Prasad is defaming good Congress leaders by alleging a plot to split. This is hilarious. How can a politician fail to see through the game?'
In Patna yesterday, Nitish had hit out at his former ally for suggesting that the JDU was trying to split the Congress.
