PATNA, Nov. 12 -- Janata Dal (United) has taken umbrage over the portrayal of party's supremo and former chief minister Nitish Kumar in Congress leader Sonia Gandhi's just released autobiography Belonging: A Journey of Love. Gandhi was the chairperson of the Opposition bloc United Progressive Alliance (UPA) till 2023 when it was dissolved to give way to new grouping called Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) of which Nitish was a pivotal part before he parted ways. In her book, Gandhi has written that Kumar was looking for an opportunity to exit the INDIA bloc and was under the BJP's influence. She also refers to his return to the NDA in early 2024. JD(U) national working president Sanjay Jha said that the assertion of Gandhi about Kumar was absolutely wrong and far from the ground reality. "The reality is that none of the constituent parties wanted the Congress to be on board in the INDIA grouping. It was only due to Nitish Kumar that the alliance took shape and the Congress was included despite reservations, but when Nitish Kumar felt the alliance was rudderless, he decided to part ways," he said. Jha said it was total misrepresentation of facts to say that "Nitish Kumar was not on board"; as he was the one who had insisted on keeping the Congress in the grouping. "There are some basic questions that need to be answered to get the facts right. Who formed the INDIA alliance? Nitish Kumar himself convened the first meeting in Patna in 2023. However, once he gave alliance shape, the Congress' role was unacceptable not only to him, but also to others. The comments about Nitish Kumar are light and at the low-level. It reflects Congress' mindset. There was no reason to refer Nitish Kumar in the book," said Jha. The JD(U) leader said that Nitish Kumar, who has had an unblemished public life of 50 years, left the INDIA formation after seeing the "dynastic politics and unhealthy alliance" despite the fact that he was its architect and made extra efforts to unite the Opposition. "Sonia Gandhi should not have made such remarks about Nitish Kumar. It appears to be just her figment of imagination and that has gone horribly astray. Nitish Kumar does not need anyone's certificate and the Congress should refrain from issuing one," he said. Jha said, "Nitish was opposed to the very acronym INDIA, which rhymes with the name of the country. It was reported widely." "Moreover, it became clear soon that all this talk of the opposition party was just a ploy to grab power by leaders who were more concerned about their respective dynasties than anything else. Let the Congress also remember what their senior leader Digvijaya Singh spoke about Nitish Kumar," said the JD(U) working president. The allusion was to a widely reported episode at a recent meeting of the Congress Working Committee, where Singh had rued that the JD(U) president's exit from the INDIA bloc had hit the coalition ahead of Lok Sabha elections. Singh's remark had reportedly drawn sharp remarks from Gandhi as well as Kharge, both of whom were of the view that the JD(U) supremo had "made up his mind" to realign with the BJP and his exit was good riddance. Jha also rubbished reports of friction within the NDA, saying that the Opposition would keep weaving dreams in the hope of winning over Nitish Kumar. "But now there is no chance. Everything is all right within the NDA; the government is running well,. We fought the 2024 and 2025 elections in complete unity, and the results speak for themselves," he added. Congress leader Shakeel Ahmad Khan, however, said that the JD(U) should speak the complete truth, as Nitish Kumar is known for jumping ships in Bihar and the entire Bihar and whole of India know of the pressure Nitish Kumar was in while being surrounded by corrupt office-bearers. "What Sonia Gandhi wrote in her book, that he had been looking for an opportunity to leave the INDIA bloc - he was indeed looking for an opportunity...What was the reason he left?...What was the weak link has not been disclosed by the JD(U), Lalan Singh or Sanjay Jha. Could there have been an alliance with BJP agents all around? All of them were working on BJP's payroll," he added. Maintaining that such people want to do individual politics, Khan said that Nitish Kumar could still make a turnaround. " These people, especially Sanjay Jha and Lalan Singh, have weakened Nitish Kumar...JD(U) will be finished off by these two people," he added....