The Bihar assembly on Tuesday witnessed yet another heated exchange between Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Leader of the Opposition Rabri Devi.
The confrontation added to the growing tensions between the ruling NDA and the opposition RJD-led Mahagathbandhan.
According to reports, the latest altercation was triggered by the sight of RJD MLCs entering the House wearing green-colored badges.
These badges carried slogans stating that quotas for deprived castes had been increased in Bihar by the "Tejashwi government" but were "stolen" after the BJP returned to power.
The reference was to the period when Tejashwi Yadav, son of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav and heir apparent, served as Deputy Chief Minister. During his tenure, a legislation passed in 2023 had increased reservations for backward and deprived castes.
However, the Patna High Court later struck down the decision, leading to political controversy.
Visibly irked by the display, Nitish Kumar singled out one of the RJD MLCs and made them stand up so that the badge and slogans could be prominently displayed. "Just look at this spectacle. You can see this only in this party," he remarked, as per PTI reports.
Rabri Devi, a former Chief Minister of Bihar, objected to Nitish Kumar’s remarks and stood up to defend her party.
However, the Chief Minister dismissed her intervention with a sharp retort, saying, "You just stay out of this. The party is not yours but that of your husband (Lalu Prasad Yadav)."
He went on to add, "This poor lady was propped up by her husband when he was in trouble," alluding to the time in 1997 when Rabri Devi assumed the Chief Minister's post after Lalu Prasad Yadav was forced to step down following a CBI charge sheet in the fodder scam.
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The incident is the latest in a series of confrontations between Nitish Kumar and the opposition. Having left the NDA alliance in 2022 to join the Mahagathbandhan, Kumar made a dramatic political U-turn in 2024, returning to the BJP-led NDA and taking oath as Bihar’s Chief Minister for the ninth time.
The tensions between Kumar and Rabri Devi have been escalating over the past weeks. In a similar incident last week, the two leaders had engaged in a heated argument during a discussion on Bihar’s law and order situation.
The opposition had blamed the worsening crime situation on the ruling NDA, while Kumar strongly defended his government.
"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," he said, targeting the RJD.
When Rabri Devi protested, Kumar dismissed her yet again, stating, "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."
With tensions running high in the Bihar assembly, the political rivalry between Nitish Kumar and the RJD leadership continues to shape the state's volatile political landscape.
Also Read: RJD MLAs protest for 65 pc quota outside Bihar Assembly
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