Patna, February 9 Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday confronted the RJD in the legislative council, alleging that it did not do anything for women when it was in power, amid demonstrations by opposition MLCs over the alleged rise in cases of sexual assault in the state.
The leader of the opposition in the council, Rabri Devi, alleged that law and order has failed in the state, and demanded the resignation of Kumar and Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary, who holds the Home portfolio.
As the House assembled for the day, opposition members, led by Rabri Devi, started raising slogans, seeking the chief minister's response to recent incidents of rapes in the state.
They alleged that incidents of rape have become a routine thing in the state.
Amid the chaos, Kumar, who was present in the House, stood to speak.
Targeting the RJD, he said, "When they were in power, they did not do anything. They did nothing for women. After we came to power in 2005, all-round development of Bihar has taken place, and the state is progressing on all fronts."
He urged Deputy Chairman Ram Bachan Rai to take action against the members who were creating a ruckus.
Kumar and Rabri Devi were also seen addressing each other in an animated tone amid loud sloganeering, but their voices were not audible as the microphones were switched off.
As the ruckus continued, Rai adjourned the House till 2:30 pm.
Speaking to reporters outside the House, Rabri Devi alleged, "Law and order has failed in the state, and incidents of murder and rape are occurring every day. This government is incompetent."
The former chief minister particularly highlighted the alleged rape and murder of a 6-year-old in Darbhanga district on Saturday evening.
The victim was reportedly sexually assaulted by a neighbour when she was playing with two other girls near a pond in her village.
Rabri Devi demanded the resignation of Kumar and Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary, who holds the Home portfolio. "The home minister had himself said that if any such incident occurs, he would resign within 24 hours," she claimed.
The second half of the council session, too, did not last long as opposition MLCs continued their protest, eliciting a sharp response from the government.
Rural Works Department Minister Ashok Choudhary said, "Everybody knows what types of crimes used to happen under the RJD rule. You people (RJD leaders) continuously abuse Nitish Kumar and seek his resignation. This is the reason people of Bihar have rejected you, limiting your party to a mere 25 seats."
On Rabri Devi's allegation that the government has been formed through "vote chori", Choudhary claimed that people rejected RJD's Mai Bahan Yojana, which was promised before the polls, because they knew that "the politicians who could eat up the fodder of animals won't spare humans."
Choudhary was alluding to the fodder scam that happened during the RJD rule. Notably, a charge sheet in the scam had caused the RJD supremo Lalu Prasad to give up the chief minister’s post in 1997 and hand over the reins to his wife. Prasad had been convicted in several fodder scam cases.
JD(U) MLC Neeraj Kumar defended the government's stance by highlighting that the accused in the Darbhanga case was arrested within 1.5 hours of the police complaint.
The district administration has directed its officials to solve the case within two months through a speedy trial, he added.
To this, RJD MLC Sunil Singh hit back, saying, "If the accused was nabbed within 1.5 hours in the Darbhanga incident, then why did the government go silent on the NEET aspirant death case, which occurred almost one month ago."
When one of the BJP MLCs alleged that Rabri Devi keeps speaking trivially in the council, opposition MLCs rushed towards him. Following a verbal confrontation, the house was adjourned for the day.
