Nitish Kumar's return to NDA fold won't affect INDIA alliance: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut

The Uddhav Thackerayled Shiv Sena UBT leader Sanjay Raut on Monday said Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumars return to the NDA fold will not affect the opposition INDIA alliance and claimed the Congress was in favour of appointing Nitish Kumar as the convener of the opposition bloc reported the PTISpeaking to the reporters in Mumbai Sanjay Raut dubbed Nitish Kumar as Paltu Ram as per the PTIJDU president Nitish Kumar on Sunday took oath as the chief minister of Bihar for a record ninth time after a dramatic volteface ditching the Mahagathbandhan and the opposition bloc INDIA and forming a new government with the BJP which he had dumped less than 18 months agoSanjay Raut said that the way Nitish Kumar left the INDIA bloc is unfortunateBut if someone thinks that the exit of Nitish Kumar will create a rift in the national INDIA alliance then it is not correct In fact the organisation gets tougher if such people leave and the INDIA bloc will also become stronger the Rajya Sabha member saidThere is Tejashwi Yadav of RJD who was the deputy CM of Bihar until Kumar walked out of the alliance there is the Congress and some other parties and they will make the INDIA bloc stronger he said according to the PTISanjay Raut said Nitish does not mean Bihar and asked will people of that state like it if a person takes oath as CM multiple times in one tenureThey do not know the real face of the BJP and they BJP are going to finish Nitish Kumar he claimedIt is the BJPs ployto finish Bihars identity but Nitish does not mean Bihar In Maharashtra also they experimented with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde but Shinde does not mean Maharashtra or Deputy CM Ajit Pawar does not mean Maharashtra he saidRaut also said the Congress has no role in Nitish Kumars exit from the opposition allianceIn fact the Congress was in favour of appointing Nitish as the convenor of the INDIA bloc he claimedThe Congress had discussions with us but at the same time information was coming that Nitish was having some secret deal with the BJP In politics everyone keeps information on everyone he saidSanjay Raut dubbed Nitish Kumar as Paltu Ram and asked how many times will he indulge in voltefaceHe should go to a circus The circus will have acche din good days He should form a Paltu Ram circus and make the BJP its ringmaster he saidAsked about a rift among ministers in the Mahayuti ruling alliance in Maharashtra over a notification on the Maratha reservation issue Raut said if there is any rift over the decision then Chief Minister Eknath Shinde should sack those ministersIf any minister is against the cabinet decision and the CMs decision then such minister can be sacked he addedCM Shinde has announced that till Marathas get reservation they will be given all the benefits enjoyed by the Other Backward Classes OBCsA draft notification was issued recently by the government stating that blood relatives of a Maratha person who has records to show that he belongs to the agrarian Kunbi community would also be recognised as KunbiAn agrarian community Kunbi falls in the OBC categoryState cabinet minister Chhagan Bhujbal has criticised the governments move over the quota issue and questioned the backdoor entry of Marathas into the OBC categorywith PTI inputs