India
pti-PTI
The
Bihar
Legislative
Council
on
Wednesday
witnessed
an
unprecedented
spat
between
Bihar
Chief
Minister
Nitish
Kumar
and
his
predecessor
Rabri
Devi,
who
is
now
the
leader
of
the
opposition.
The
former
chief
minister
later
stormed
out
of
the
House,
with
other
opposition
members
in
tow,
and
alleged
before
the
media
that
the
incumbent
was
under
the
influence
of
‘bhang’
(cannabis)
while
her
son
Tejashwi
Yadav,
the
leader
of
the
opposition
in
the
assembly,
sought
the
resignation
of
“mentally
unstable” Kumar.
Photo
Credit:
PTI
File
Photo
happier
times:
Nitish
Kumar
and
Rabri
Devi
all
smiles
for
the
camera
Trouble
began
when
Shashi
Yadav,
an
MLC
of
the
CPI(ML),
an
RJD
ally,
rose
in
her
chair
to
submit
before
the
House
that
she
was
not
satisfied
with
the
government’s
reply
to
her
question.
Kumar,
who
is
also
a
member
of
the
upper
house,
reacted,
while
still
seated,
with
the
remark,
“The
government
is
doing
so
much.
The
earlier
governments
did
nothing.”
This
irked
Rabri
Devi,
who
rose
to
intervene,
saying
“You
claim
no
work
was
done
before
you
took
over.
Please
summon
the
records
of
that
period.
You
will
understand
better.”
Kumar,
who
had
demonstrated
his
quick
temper
before
the
House
earlier
this
week,
sprang
to
his
feet
and
vehemently
began
to
reiterate
his
point.
Rabri
Devi
reacted
with
the
taunt,
“According
to
you,
women
did
not
even
wear
clothes
before
2005,
when
you
became
the
chief
minister.”
The
allusion
was
to
a
faux
pas
made
by
the
JD(U)
president
more
than
once
in
recent
past,
while
trying
to
underscore
his
push
for
empowering
women.
Kumar,
however,
dug
in
his
heels,
dismissed
the
charge
by
the
opposition
that
he
was
disrespectful
towards
women.
“Never
before
have
women
got
so
much
of
respect
as
they
are
getting
now,”
asserted
the
CM
who
also
twisted
the
knife
by
pointing
towards
Rabri
Devi,
with
the
remark,
“What
did
they
do
for
women?
Her
husband
made
her
the
chief
minister
when
he
ran
into
trouble.”
Notably,
Rabri
Devi
first
became
the
chief
minister
in
1997
when
her
husband
Lalu
Prasad,
the
RJD
president,
had
to
resign,
following
a
CBI
charge-sheet
in
the
fodder
scam.
The
heated
exchange
caused
Chairman
Awadhesh
Narain
Singh
to
rise
and
appeal
to
the
opposition
to
let
the
House
run.
However,
the
opposition
led
by
Rabri
Devi
staged
a
walkout,
even
as
Kumar
continued
with
a
brief
monologue,
accusing
the
RJD
of
having
been
soft
on
perpetrators
of
Hindu-Muslim
riots
because
of
caste
affinity.
He
also
regretted
having
tied
up
with
RJD
twice
and
said,
“I
am
back
with
my
old
partners
(BJP).
Now
we
shall
remain
together
and
continue
with
our
good
work.”
Speaking
to
reporters
outside
the
House,
Rabri
Devi
alleged,
“Nitish
Kumar
comes
to
the
assembly
under
the
influence
of
‘bhang’.
He
misbehaves
with
women.
Today,
he
has
insulted
me
for
the
second
time.”
“He
speaks
as
if
he
himself
was
born
in
2005,
just
like
his
ally
Prime
Minister
Narendra
Modi
pretends
as
if
he
came
into
this
world
in
2014.
The
two
leaders
should
tell
us
what
is
meant
by
women
did
not
wear
clothes
in
the
past?”
asked
the
ex-CM,
visibly
beside
herself.
She
added,
“The
CM
is
sitting
on
the
lap
of
the
BJP
which
has
its
moles
acting
as
his
confidants.
We
have
staged
a
walkout
and
we
will
boycott
the
House
till
Nitish
Kumar
does
not
give
up
insulting
women.”
Tejashwi
Yadav,
who
learnt
about
the
unsavoury
episode,
also
told
reporters
outside
the
assembly,
“The
14
crore
people
of
Bihar
should
be
worried.
Their
fate
is
in
the
hands
of
a
chief
minister
who
is
mentally
unstable.
I
pray
for
Nitish
Kumar’s
early
recovery.”
“It
seems
he
reserves
his
wrath
for
women.
He
shows
little
respect
for
the
first
female
chief
minister
of
Bihar.
He
keeps
deriding
Lalu
ji,
who
is
a
much
taller
leader
than
he
is.
On
two
occasions,
Lalu
ji
helped
Nitish
Kumar
survive
in
power,”
he
added.
