PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar courted a controversy on Saturday when he took a jibe at Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad over having “too many children”, and asked “itna zyaada paida karna chahiye kisi ko, baal baccha (should someone have so many children)?”
Nitish made remarks against Lalu and his family members at an election rally in Bihar’s Katihar Lok Sabha constituency from where JD(U) MP Dulal Chand Goswami is seeking re-election. He is pitted against former union minister and Congress candidate Tariq Anwar.
“Some people claim everything these days. They appointed their wives when they were removed from post (CM’s post). Now, it is their children these days. ‘Ab paida to bahut kar diya. Itna zyaada paida karna chahiye kisi ko, baal bacha?” asked Kumar while addressing a public rally at Katihar.
“Now they have involved their sons, daughters, and everyone. They keep saying something or other everywhere. They forget the old things, hence I want to tell everyone that no work was done in the state during the RJD regime. There were no roads or education,” he added.
Lalu has a total of nine children—two sons and seven daughters. Lalu’s wife Rabri Devi also ruled the state when RJD chief was put behind the bars for his involvement in multi-crore fodder scam in undivided Bihar. Later he was convicted in the fodder scam cases probed by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
RJD chief’s two daughters—Misa Bharti (a Rajya Sabha member) and Rohini Archarya, who is based in Singapore, are contesting Lok Sabha elections from Patliputra and Saran seats in the state, respectively.
Rohini shot into fame after she donated one of her kidneys to his ailing father who later underwent a kidney transplant.
Lalu’s younger son Tejashwi Prasad Yadav served as the state’s deputy chief minister during the grand alliance government while his elder son Tej Pratap held environment portfolio.
On January 28 this year, Nitish who was heading the grand alliance government snapped ties with RJD and joined hands with old ally BJP to form an NDA government.
RJD spokesperson Mritunjay Tiwari attacked Nitish Kumar, who is also national president of JD(U), for making personal attack on RJD chief, saying that the chief minister has lost his balance because the BJP has not allowed him to share the stage with PM Narendra Modi.