Last week too, a heated argument had ensued between chief minister Nitish Kumar and RJD’s Rabri Devi in the Bihar assembly. The Bihar assembly on Tuesday witnessed yet another spat between chief minister Nitish Kumar and Leader of the opposition Rabri Devi. The JD(U) chief’s fresh fit of temper was caused by the sight of RJD MLCs reaching the House wearing green colour badges with slogans declaring that quotas for deprived castes had been hiked in the state by the “Tejashwi government” and were “stolen” after BJP returned to power.
Tejashwi Yadav, the RJD supremo’s son and heir apparent, was the Deputy CM when the quotas were hiked through legislation passed in 2023. However, the Patna high court quashed them. Miffed by the RJD MLCs’ attire, Nitish Kumar made one of the MLCs stand up so that the badge and slogans could be seen clearly. “Just look at this spectacle. You can see this only in this party,” Nitish Kumar said in the Assembly.
Rabri Devi, former Bihar chief minister, however, objected to Kumar’s derision of her party and stood up to speak. The Bihar chief minister, however, snubbed her, saying: “You just stay out of this. The party is not yours but that of your husband (Lalu Prasad Yadav)”.
He added: “This poor lady was propped up by her husband when he was in trouble.” Rabri Devi became the chief minister in 1997 when her husband, Lalu Prasad Yadav, had to step down following a CBI charge sheet in the fodder scam. Nitish Kumar, who had left the NDA alliance in 2022 to join the Opposition-led Mahagathbandhan, made a U-turn and returned to the BJP-led alliance in 2024, taking oath as the chief minister of Bihar for the ninth time.
Nitish Kumar vs Rabri Devi
Last week too, a heated argument ensued between chief minister Nitish Kumar and RJD’s Rabri Devi in the Bihar assembly. The argument took place when members of the ruling NDA and the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan traded charges on the worsening law and order situation in Bihar. “We look into any incident of crime that takes place and bring the guilty to justice. But these people, who did nothing worthwhile in power and were unable to handle Hindu-Muslim tensions, are after publicity,” Kumar said, targeting the RJD
When Rabri Devi stood up in protest, Kumar shunned her, saying: “You stay out of this. You know nothing about these matters. Her husband made her the chief minister when he was placed under suspension (sic). It all remained in the family. They did nothing while in power. Their propensity for mischief led me to snap ties”.
