NEW DELHI: Congress leader Udit Raj on Friday took a jab at senior party colleague P Chidambaram over his remarks questioning the future of the opposition INDIA bloc, saying while it is easy to criticise, the former Union minister could do much more to strengthen the party.“Party has given him a lot. He and his son are MPs. Since the party is not in power, Chidambaram ji should go around the country and conduct a dialogue. He is an economist with deep knowledge of business, GST, and income tax — he should engage with businessmen and help strengthen the party,” Raj said. “It’s easy to criticise, but I do not see these things being done,” he added.The comments come a day after Chidambaram publicly expressed doubts about the cohesion of INDIA bloc, the opposition coalition formed to challenge the BJP-led NDA.“The future of the INDIA bloc is not so bright… It shows at the seams that it is frayed,” Chidambaram said while speaking at a book launch on Thursday. He added that while he hoped the alliance could be held together, he was “not sure” if it remained intact.His remarks also gave fresh ammunition to the BJP, which was quick to pounce. BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said even Congress leaders now acknowledge the party has “no future,” accusing the opposition alliance of being driven by “self-interest” rather than public service.“When the INDI alliance was formed, its only goal was to grab power — even if it meant being anti-India, abusing Prime Minister Modi, or demoralising our armed forces,” Bhatia told PTI. “Now, Chidambaram himself has said the alliance is dead.”Echoing the sentiment, BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari said on X, “Even Rahul Gandhi’s close aides know Congress has no future.”Former Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar also weighed in, saying the INDIA bloc was nothing more than a rebranded version of the “corrupt” UPA and lacked a shared vision or ideology.“It is an alliance of dynasty-driven parties, known only for their love of corruption and hatred of Modiji. Even their own leaders now realise it has no future,” he said.
