‘He can get me shot’: Nitish Kumar’s acerbic comeback at RJD’s Lalu Prasad

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar said he was working for the people of Bihar and brushed aside RJD founder Lalu Prasad Yadav attack aimed at him, saying the RJD leader will not get publicity if he doesn’t speak about him.

PATNA: Ahead of byelections for two assembly seats in Bihar, chief minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday responded to Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president Lalu Prasad that he will ensure the end of Nitish Kumar and his government, saying that RJD founder could get him shot but not do anything else.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar during by-election campaign at Kusheshwar Sthan assembly constituency in Darbhanga, Bihar, India, on Tuesday. He later responded to RJD boss Lalu Prasad Yadav’s attack.  (HT Photo/Santosh Kumar)

“He can get me shot. This will be the best. He can’t do anything else....” when asked by reporters about RJD leader Lalu Yadav’s statement earlier in the day that ‘I will ensure ‘visarjan’ (immersion) of Nitish Kumar, NDA govt in Bihar’.

Kumar continued, insisting that Lalu Prasad’s attack was motivated by the need to stay in the limelight. “I always worked for the people. How will they get publicity if they do not speak about me?”

Nitish Kumar said the RJD regime led by Lalu Prasad and later his wife Rabri Devi did not do anything for people when they were in power. “Everybody knows what was the condition of roads, schools, Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes in their tenure. We have worked for the Scheduled Castes, STs and for the backward classes. There were so many people who migrated from the state due to unemployment. Nobody ventured out of the house after evening.”

In 2020, the ruling coalition, NDA secured a majority with 125 seats in the 243-seat strong Bihar Legislative Assembly. The BJP won 74 seats, Janata Dal (United) secured 43 while eight seats were won by two other NDA constituents. The RJD, on the other hand, emerged as the single-largest party with 75 seats while Congress, which was its partner in the elections, won only 19 of the 70 seats it had contested.

Kumar addressed election meetings at both Tarapur and Kusheshwar Sthan for two consecutive days while Lalu Prasad is scheduled to visit these places on Wednesday. The campaigning for both the seats will end on October 28 evening and the polls are scheduled on October 30.