Nitish Kumar comes to Bihar assembly under influence of 'bhang', alleges Rabri Devi after spat with CM

Patna: 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.

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.