Patna: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi is understood to have warned his party leaders of action if they continued to target Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
Media reports said Gandhi intervened in favour of Kumar and instructed party leaders not to criticise the Bihar CM.
Bihar Congress president Ashok Choudhary confirmed to PTI that he had a meeting with Gandhi earlier this week in Delhi but refused to divulge what transpired there.
The reports said that Gandhi, during his meeting with Choudhary, hinted that action would be taken against leaders issuing statements against Kumar.
The sparring began after senior Congress leader Gulam Nabi Azad attacked Kumar for breaking ranks with the Opposition and supporting NDA's pick Ram Nath Kovind for the July 17 Presidential election.
He had alleged that Kumar wanted to ensure the defeat of 'Bihar ki Beti' Meira Kumar, who is the Opposition's candidate for the poll.
People having one ideology take one decision while those with many ideologies take different decisions, Azad had said, apparently referring to JD(U)'s long association with BJP.
Some state leaders of the Congress subsequently attacked Kumar, who returned the fire by questioning the grand old party's shift from the ideologies of Mahatama Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru.
The JD(U) chief made it clear that his party was no 'pichlagoo' (camp follower) of any party.
Reacting positively to the Congress gesture, JD(U) has hinted that it could side with the Opposition in the August vice presidential poll.
"If our party is invited to participate in a meeting of the opposition to discuss the issue of vice-presidential election, we will certainly attend," JD(U) national spokesman KC Tyagi told PTI over phone.
JD(U) would support the united Opposition's candidate in the vice-president election, provided it is invited and consulted, he said.
Asked who would represent JD(U) in the proposed Opposition's meeting, Tyagi said that it would be decided by Kumar and senior party leader Sharad Yadav.
Choudhary, who is also the education minister in the Nitish Kumar-led government, told PTI, "We expect JD(U) would be with us in the vice-presidential poll."
On July 03, Nitish had dismissed reports about becoming the Opposition's PM candidate and had stressed the need for "alternative narratives" against the NDA.
The JD(U) president, who had asked the Opposition to move beyond "reactive narratives", had also dispelled fears about fissures in Bihar's grand alliance and had said that the government would fulfill its commitment in time by implementing the "seven resolves" of good governance.
Kumar was interacting with reporters after the Lok Samvad (public interaction) programme.
RJD chief Lalu Prasad's son and Bihar Deputy CM Tejaswi Yadav was seen sitting by his side along with other ministers.
Dismissing himself as a PM candidate in 2019 Lok Sabha poll, Kumar had said, "We are a small party and very well know the futility of nourishing prime ministerial ambitions. It is seen that the candidate whose name is in circulation never gets to the post."
More than having a face, "the Opposition should have alternative narratives to go to the people against the ruling party on key issues like the problems of farmers", he had told reporters.
He had added that "only talking" would not help and had stressed that what was needed was "alternative agendas" on issues like farmer problems and cow protection.
"It's the duty of the opposition to oppose the government. We should have alternative agendas for the benefit of the country more than relying only on reactive narratives," Kumar had said.
Asked why he was not piloting the alternative narratives' formulation, the Bihar CM had asked, "Am I the most talented person?"
Kumar's remarks had come in the backdrop of RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav describing the JD(U) chief's support to Kovind as a ''Himalayan blunder".
Nitish had justified his party's stand on supporting Kovind and attending the special session of Parliament on GST and had said, "It's our principled stand taken after thoroughly deliberating on all aspects. I have already talked in detail on the subject at JD(U)'s state executive meeting in Patna yesterday."
(With PTI inputs)
