Patna: Pandemonium reigned in the Bihar Assembly on Wednesday as Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Yadav clashed over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls being conducted by the Election Commission.
The ruckus began after Tejashwi Yadav, dressed in a black T-shirt in a symbolic protest against the EC’s exercise, was permitted by Speaker Nand Kishor Yadav to make a statement.
‘Why conduct SIR now?’
The spat started with Tejashwi Yadav questioned the timing and manner of the EC’s exercise in his statement. “We are not opposed to the special intensive revision per se, but how the Election Commission has been carrying out the exercise is objectionable. Why so late, when elections are just around the corner? They could have conducted it a few months earlier,” Tejashwi said.
Former Deputy CM and RJD leader went to add, “Only two-three per cent of voters in the state may have the documents that the EC is asking them to produce. What is this fear of fake voters? Does the EC mean to say fake voters have made Narendra Modi the PM and Nitish Kumar the CM. The EC has also not spoken of any foreign nationals in the voters’ list in its affidavit before the Supreme Court.” He further questioned the status of 4.5 crore Bihari migrant voters.
‘You are a child, you know nothing…’
His remarks drew a sharp response from CM Nitish Kumar, who interrupted, calling Yadav “a child”.
“You are a child. You know nothing of matters like these. Only three days are left of this last session of the House. Let it conduct legislative business. Whatever rubbish you want to speak, you may do it to your heart’s content during elections”, he said.
The 75-year-old CM went on to say, “When his (Yadav’s) parents were chief ministers, they did nothing, neither for the women, nor for Muslims, nor any other section of society. The only woman who got something was his mother”.
Tensions escalate, session adjourned
As ministers tried to calm the visibly irate CM, the shouting intensified across the aisle. The Speaker rebuked RJD MLA Bhai Virendra for using offensive language and insisted he apologise. He also criticised Deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha for shouting, saying, “It is disgusting that you are behaving like this, despite being a deputy CM.”
As tensions escalated swiftly, Speaker adjourned the proceedings barely half an hour after the House had convened.
The Speaker warned members to maintain order and condemned the previous day’s disruptions, which had led to injuries among staff. He criticised both the Opposition and ruling party members for using unparliamentary language and refusing to cooperate.
Later, Tejashwi Yadav held a press briefing, accusing the ruling BJP-JD(U) alliance of avoiding meaningful discussion. He claimed 55 lakh voters had already been marked absent by the EC and warned of further disenfranchisement.
(With PTI inputs)
