Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s strange act during the national anthem at the inaugural ceremony of the Sepaktakraw World Cup in Patna on Friday has snowballed into a fresh political controversy in the election-bound state.
The opposition parties demanded his resignation alleging that he insulted the national anthem and repeated the demand of his mental health examination.
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On Friday, the Bihar Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council proceedings were adjourned as the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MLAs staged a protest against Nitish Kumar for insulting the national anthem and later the party MLAs stormed the well, raising slogans against Kumar alleging that he is not mentally stable.
Former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi demanded the CM’s immediate resignation, claiming he was not mentally or physically fit to govern. She also asked him to pass on the responsibility either to his son, Nishant Kumar, or any other person of his choice.
Leader of Opposition in Bihar Legislative Assembly Tejashwi Yadav also demanded the CM’s resignation alleging that he disrespected the national anthem.
RJD MP Misa Bharti slammed Nitish Kumar over disrespect to the national anthem and said that he didn’t seem mentally fit.
Expressing concern over the incident, Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor said that questions have been raised on the mental condition of Nitish Kumar for the past few months.
He said, “I have been making appeals to the government from every platform for the past few months that Nitish Kumar’s mental condition should be examined and a detailed report should be placed before the people of Bihar. It is unfortunate that the Chief Minister of Bihar is physically and mentally exhausted. Now he is not fully healthy to run the government and make decisions.”
“What is more surprising is that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah are also aware that Nitish Kumar’s mental condition is not good, but they are supporting the chief minister to run the government. They are doing injustice to the people of Bihar,” he added.
In protest against the insult of the national anthem, the RJD has decided to burn Nitish Kumar’s effigy at every district headquarters of the party on Saturday. The party’s State Principal General Secretary Ranvijay Sahu said that the effigy burning programme will be organised under the banner of the Mahagathbandhan.
JD(U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar dismissed the criticism and defended Nitish Kumar’s patriotism.
“Nitish Kumar’s respect for the national anthem is unquestionable. He is the son of a freedom fighter. He has institutionalised respect for freedom fighters in this country. No one can evaluate his personality on the basis of a video clip,” said the JD(U) leader.
