Kamal Ghorui
Screen grab
NEW DELHI: Bihar chief minister and JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar lost his composure in the state assembly on Tuesday as opposition members protested, alleging that the NDA-led government was ruling the state with the help of “guns and bullets”. During the heated exchange, Kumar made a notable slip of the tongue, wrongly mentioning the NDA’s strength as “two thousand and two” instead of 202, while referring to the mandate won by the JD(U)-led coalition, which had secured 202 of the 243 assembly seats in last year’s elections, news agency PTI reported.
The protest began shortly after the House convened at 11 am, when RJD MLA Kumar Sarvajeet raised concerns over a police baton charge on village chowkidars demanding higher stipends. Sarvajeet said, “The ‘chowkidars’ who were demanding a hike in their pay are very much employees of the Home department. Yet, they were treated in a deplorable fashion yesterday.”Opposition members shouted slogans: “bandook goli ki sarkar nahin chalegi (will not allow a rule by brute force, with the help of guns and bullets)”. Responding sharply, Kumar said, “Do not talk rubbish. This government will run without any hiccups. Just look at us. We are two thousand and two. And just look at how many of you have been left now.”RJD leader Bhai Virendra reminded Nitish Kumar of previous short-lived alliances, to which the CM hit back, saying, “Yes, and you people always indulged in mischief, a reason why I pulled out never to return.” He also criticised the RJD’s past governance: “Law and order had been so abysmal that people feared getting out of their homes after 5 pm. So you better not talk nonsense.”The situation briefly escalated when some opposition MLAs entered the well. Order was restored after parliamentary affairs minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary assured talks with chowkidar representatives and promised appropriate action.
