In Bihar, Tejashwi's 'PM has 6 siblings' response to Nitish

If the phrase ‘all’s fair in love and war’ is taken as granted, the poll-bound Bihar plot would be the best fit. For, in Bihar, the stakes are high, clashes are of egos, and leaders are in no mood to adhere to decent electoral campaigning. In Bihar, the number of children in a party leader’s family becomes an election issue over jobs and education.

An “eight-nine children” jibe by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who is leading the JD(U)-BJP alliance under the NDA banner, directed against Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)’s Tejashwi Yadav has sparked off a slugfest worse than imagined. Yadav has, in response, dragged in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s family of “six siblings”.

Without taking any names, Nitish had said, “Does anyone care? They have eight-nine children. They have no faith in daughters. After so many daughters, they had a son. You all can see – this is the kind of Bihar they want to make.”

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The chief minister’s comments were aimed at former Bihar Chief Ministers Lalu Prasad Yadav and his wife Rabri Devi. They have nine children and Tejashwi is the eighth child of the duo.

Reacting to his comments, Tejashwi made reference to PM Modi having “six siblings” and said Nitish was targeting him. Though this could be termed as a witty response, the context remains unnecessary to the campaigning process, and albeit, the decorum. The RJD leader also said that the chief minister had “insulted” women and his “mother’s sentiments.”

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“By commenting on my family, Nitish Kumar is targeting PM Modi as he also has six siblings. Using such language, Nitish Kumar has insulted women and my mother’s sentiments. They don’t speak on the main issues, like inflation, corruption, unemployment etc,” the 31-year-old, who is the face of the opposition parties, said.

He had tweeted earlier, “Even bad words used by Nitishji against me are like blessings to me. Nitish Kumar is mentally and physically tired and that is why he can speak whatever he likes. I treat his words like a blessing. This time Bihar has decided to vote on the issues of employment and development.”

Bihar assembly elections will be held in three phases, on October 28, November 3 and 7. The results will be announced on November 10.

Meanwhile, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad too targeted the RJD leader over his parents’ photo missing from the party’s election posters. Addressing a rally in Purnia on Monday, he asked why he was “so ashamed” of the photos of his parents who were former chief ministers of the state, according to NDTV.

He answered his question: “This is because if their photos come, people will definitely ask about the kidnappings that took place in the Bhatta Bazar area of Purnia. People will recall how they had started leaving this place,” according to the report.