We don't require Nitish Kumar, a little bit of pressure makes him U-turn: Rahul Gandhi

"We don't require Nitish Kumar, a little bit of pressure and he makes a U-turn," Gandhi, who is leading the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, said at a public meeting in Bihar's Purnea district on Tuesday.

Kumar joined hands with the BJP over the weekend, apparently furious over a comment of Rahul Gandhi at a meeting of the Opposition on Jan 13.

Regarding the matter of choosing a coordinator for the INDIA bloc, a post that Kumar had eyed, Gandhi said he would consult Mamata Banerjee, media reports said.

Furious with the Congress leader, Kumar quit the meeting 10 minutes early.

Though the leaders chose him as the convenor shortly after, Kumar rejected it, having decided to change camp, reports said.

This was Kumar's fifth change of camp in a decade and gave a chance to Gandhi to poke fun at the Chief Minister, narrating a joke about Kumar returning to the Raj Bhavan to collect his shawl shortly after the oath ceremony.

"The Governor was very surprised. 'What Nitish-ji you are back so soon?' he asked," Gandhi said amid roars of laughter. "Nitish ji is like that. A bit of pressure and he caves in," he added.

Explaining why Kumar should be under pressure, he mentioned social justice -- one of the five justices sought by the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.

"The 'Mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance) will fight for social justice in Bihar; we don't require Nitish Kumar for that purpose We don't require him at all," the Congress leader said.