The Bihar Legislative Council witnessed a heated confrontation on Thursday as Chief Minister Nitish Kumar clashed with opposition leader Rabri Devi, belittling her tenure as Chief Minister and accusing her of being appointed to power by her husband, Lalu Prasad Yadav, during his legal troubles.
The exchange occurred during a debate on the deteriorating law and order situation in the state, leading to a war of words between members of the ruling NDA and the opposition RJD-led Mahagathbandhan.
While defending his government’s handling of crime, Kumar dismissed criticisms from the opposition, claiming they had failed to maintain communal harmony during their time in power and were now seeking undue publicity.
As Rabri Devi attempted to counter his remarks by highlighting the achievements of her eight-year tenure as Chief Minister, Kumar interrupted her with a Magahi phrase, “chhoda na tohra kuchh maloom hai” (you stay out of this, you know nothing about these matters).
Switching to Hindi, Kumar further mocked her, stating that she was made Chief Minister by her husband after he was “placed under suspension,” an apparent reference to Lalu Prasad Yadav’s resignation in 1997 following his charge sheet in the fodder scam.
He accused the RJD of running Bihar as a family enterprise and doing little for governance, adding that their continued misconduct had forced him to sever ties with them.
Kumar’s remarks came in the backdrop of his political realignment earlier this year. After forming an alliance with the RJD in 2022 to challenge the BJP, he dramatically returned to the NDA just months before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, toppling the Mahagathbandhan government and removing Rabri Devi’s sons, Tejashwi Yadav and Tej Pratap Yadav, from their ministerial positions.
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This was the third verbal spat between Kumar and Rabri Devi during the ongoing legislative session. Even after the Chief Minister concluded his remarks, tensions escalated as Minister Ashok Choudhary alleged that RJD leaders had been involved in kidnappings for ransom during their rule.
The accusation enraged Rabri Devi, who retaliated by reminding Choudhary of his past tenure as a Congress leader in her cabinet and accusing him and his wife of being part of the ransom business (“firauti”).
The exchange took a dramatic turn when Choudhary, now a JD(U) member since 2017, broke down in tears, challenging Rabri Devi to provide evidence for her claims, while RJD members accused him of engaging in political flattery (“chamchagiri”) to please his current party leaders.
The chaos prompted Council Chairman Awadhesh Narain Singh to intervene, admonishing the opposition for disrupting proceedings. Expressing his frustration, he remarked that in his four terms as Chairman, he had never faced accusations of bias, but now found himself insulted with terms like “chamchagiri.” Opposition members clarified that the remark was not directed at him but at another member.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary urged the Chairman to expunge any unparliamentary words from the records to restore decorum in the House, but the session ended amid the continued war of words between the ruling and opposition benches.
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