Bihar: Opposition MLCs evicted from House amid uproar over Nitish remarks

Opposition members of the Bihar Legislative Council were suspended for the day and physically removed by marshals on Tuesday after disrupting proceedings while demanding an apology from chief minister Nitish Kumar over alleged offensive remarks directed at leader of Opposition Rabri Devi.

The confrontation erupted shortly after the House convened around noon. RJD MLC Abdul Qari Sohaib insisted that Kumar be summoned to the chamber to apologise for comments made the previous day.

On Monday, Opposition legislators had sought the chief minister’s response to recent incidents of rape in the state. During the exchange, Kumar and Rabri Devi appeared to address each other heatedly amid slogan-shouting, though their words were inaudible because microphones were switched off.

“Rabri Devi is not just the leader of the Opposition in this House but also a former chief minister. She was raising the matter of increasing incidents of crimes against women. The words used by Kumar were unbecoming of a chief minister. He should be summoned to the House and made to tender an apology,” Sohaib said on Tuesday.

Other Opposition MLCs joined in protest, raising slogans against the chief minister and triggering counter-shouts from members of the ruling benches. The situation escalated when Opposition legislators moved into the well of the House, where some engaged in heated exchanges with members of the ruling NDA.

Council chairman Awadhesh Narayan Singh intervened, remarking, “It seems you people are not in the mood to let the House run today. You'd better leave and stay away for the day.”

The directive provoked further anger from Opposition members, who protested that they were being penalised despite being the aggrieved side, saying “we are being accused of wrongdoing while those at fault are being allowed to remain in the House”.

As disorder continued, the chairman ordered marshals to intervene. Opposition MLCs — most belonging to the RJD — were escorted out of the chamber.

Speaking outside, RJD MLC and principal national general-secretary Abdul Bari Siddiqui accused treasury-bench members of provocation. “We were being constantly provoked by those in the treasury benches as they kept making snide remarks. But the Chair singled us out, preferring to ignore their conduct,” he alleged.

The charge was rejected by JD(U) national general-secretary and minister Ashok Choudhary, who countered, “The video footage is there for all to see. We were in our seats. It is they who had walked across and came menacingly close to us. Many of them used abusive language against me, which shows their lack of respect for Dalits.”

Choudhary also criticised the Opposition’s conduct in light of their performance in recent Assembly elections. “Their conduct is a manifestation of their character for which they have been punished by the people,” he said.

He further alleged that Rabri Devi herself behaved improperly on Monday, claiming she entered the well and gestured angrily towards the chief minister.

Minister Dilip Jaiswal said the government had urged the chairman to act against specific individuals, stating, “We have urged the chairman to take appropriate action against the unruly opposition members, especially RJD legislator Sunil Singh, who used foul language for Choudhary who is a Dalit”.

Meanwhile, Rabri Devi’s son and RJD national working president Tejashwi Yadav criticised Kumar while speaking to reporters at the airport after returning from Delhi. The former deputy chief minister said the episode showed “Nitish Kumar is not in a sound state of mind and is unfit to rule the state”.

“Every other day, Nitish Kumar remains in the news for behaving in a manner that is not expected from a sane person,” Yadav alleged, now serving as leader of the Opposition in the Assembly.

With PTI inputs