Bihar CM Nitish Kumar takes a sharp dig at Rabri Devi: 'Party belongs to your husband, not you’

The Bihar Legislative Council witnessed another heated argument on Tuesday between Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Leader of the Opposition Rabri Devi. The two senior leaders exchanged sharp words, turning the House into a political battleground once again. Nitish Kumar, who leads the Janata Dal (United), made a sarcastic comment about Rabri Devi, dismissing her as having no political importance except for being the wife of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav.

The argument started when RJD MLCs entered the council wearing green badges. These badges, representing the party’s flag, carried slogans crediting “Tejashwi government” for increasing reservations for backward and deprived castes in 2023. The RJD members also accused Nitish Kumar’s party of “stealing credit” for the move after he rejoined the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Nitish Kumar, annoyed by this, pointed towards one of the members wearing the badge and sarcastically asked the media to notice. “Just look at this spectacle. You’ll only see this in their party,” he said.

As Rabri Devi stood up to protest, Nitish Kumar interrupted her in Bihari slang, saying, “Arrey baitho na tum, tera kaun cheez hai, tera husband ka hai, tera kaun cheez hai?” (Sit down. What are you anyway? This belongs to your husband, not you.) He continued his criticism by adding, “This poor lady has no role of her own. She was made Chief Minister only when her husband was in trouble.”

It’s important to note that Rabri Devi became Bihar’s Chief Minister in 1997 after Lalu Prasad had to step down due to his involvement in the fodder scam.

This was not the first time both leaders clashed. Recently, Rabri Devi had accused Nitish Kumar of attending Assembly sessions under the influence of bhaang and claimed he disrespected women, including herself. “Nitish Kumar consumes bhaang before coming to the Assembly. He does not respect women,” she alleged.

Adding to the tension, last week a video went viral showing Nitish Kumar laughing and chatting during the National Anthem at a sports event in Patna. This led Rabri Devi to call him “mentally unfit,” while Nitish’s party brushed aside the criticism, calling it politically motivated.

As Bihar prepares for another election season, the war of words between Nitish Kumar and Rabri Devi is only intensifying.