Nitish Kumar teed up a new controversy on Sunday when he took a swipe at his former ally Lalu Yadav and his “many children”. The family however chose to respond with love.

“Some people claim everything these days. They appointed their wives when they were removed. Now, it is their children these days. Ab paida to bahut kar diya. Itna zyaada paida karna chahiye kisi ko, baal baccha? (Does anybody beget so many children?” asked Nitish Kumar, who was addressing an election rally in Katihar in favour of NDA’s Lok Sabha nominee Dulal Chandra Goswami.

While the Chief Minister did not mention anyone by name, his remarks appear to target Lalu Prasad’s family, which includes his wife Rabri Devi, who became the chief minister of Bihar when Prasad had to step down due to his conviction in the fodder scam.

“Now they have involved their sons, daughters, and everyone. They keep saying something or other everywhere. They forget the old things, hence, I want to tell everyone that no work used to get done. People could not get out, there were no roads or education,” Mr Kumar added further.

#WATCH | Katihar: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar says, “Some people claim everything these days. They appointed their wives when they were removed. Now, it is their children these days. ‘Ab paida to bahut kar diya. Itna zyaada paida karna chahiye kisi ko, baal baccha?’… Now they have… pic.twitter.com/x8Q8GdKz0W

— ANI (@ANI) April 20, 2024

Tejashwi Yadav, Lalu Yadav’s son, asked if such personal remarks will benefit the people of Bihar.

“He can say anything to us. Whatever he says is like a blessing for me… But the thing is, will such personal remarks benefit the people of Bihar… In elections, issues should be discussed… Who is writing such speeches for him? He should speak on education, employment and stopping migration,” said Tejashwi Yadav, who was Nitish Kumar’s No 2 in the government before Mr Kumar switched sides again – this time back to BJP.

#WATCH | Patna: On Bihar CM Nitish Kumar’s remarks, Former Deputy CM of Bihar RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav says, “He can say anything to us. Whatever he says is like a blessing for me… But the thing is, will such personal remarks benefit the people of Bihar… In elections, issues… pic.twitter.com/i4RYvYlLjk

— ANI (@ANI) April 20, 2024

“Now what should I say for uncle (Nitish Kumar). The people of Bihar will see what the Chief Minister of the state is trying to say. What should we say about him. When PM Modi stopped speaking on dynastic politics, uncle started speaking,” said Misa Bharti, Lalu Yadav’s eldest daughter who will contest from the Patliputra Lok Sabha constituency.

RJD leader Mrityunjay Tiwari said “Nitish Kumar is sure of his defeat, so he is making personal comments against Lalu Prasad Yadav out of nervousness”, adding that the Chief Minister has “no political ground left”.

The BJP will contest 17 of the state’s 40 seats, while the Nitish Kumar’s JDU will fight on 16 setas. Chirag Paswan’s LJP will fight on five seats.

Patna, Bihar:

Coming down heavily on Bihar Chief Minister after Janata Dal (United) returned to the NDA fold recently, Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad Yadav on Sunday said that Nitish Kumar was never abused by his party when he previously broke the alliance with them in 2017 and further questioned whether the JD-U chief feels ashamed about his act of changing sides.

Addressing the party’s ‘Jan Vishwas Maha Rally’ in Patna, Lalu Yadav said, “We never abused him when he broke alliance with us. We just called him Paltu-Ram at that time. But we made the same mistake again, and Tejashwi made the same mistake again. We knew something was happening in Raj Bhawan. There was nothing wrong with that government (previous Bihar govt). Does he not feel ashamed?”

He further appealed to the public to defeat the BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and said that the opinion of Bihar resonates with the country.

“Bihar has given lots of great personalities. In the same Gandhi Maidan, leaders of the country have held rallies and meetings. A message went to the whole country from here. Bihar’s opinion has so much power that the people of the country imitate what Bihar decides. Tomorrow also, the same is going to happen,” he said.

RJD’s ‘Jan Vishwas Maha Rally’ was also attended by other opposition leaders such as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Kharge, and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav.

At Gandhi Maidan in Patna, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav also took a dig at Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and said that the Bihar government should get its insurance done as it runs the risk of the JD-U supremo taking repeated U-turns.

“They (BJP) say ‘Modi ki Guarantee’, but who will take the guarantee of Nitish Kumar?”They call us nepotism but they have Samrat Choudhary, brother of Ram Vilas Paswan, Manjhi ji’s son has been made minister, it doesn’t look like any nepotism to them,” Tejahswi said.

“Due to the U-turn taken by Nitish Kumar, it seems that the state government should get its insurance done. They say Modi ki Guarantee, but who will take the guarantee of Nitish Kumar,” he said a day after PM Modi accused Congress-RJD of nepotism,” he added.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

It was a special cooking class: chef Lalu Yadav showed apprentice Rahul Gandhi how to cook Champaran mutton, a famous meat preparation from Bihar. The Congress leader released the cooking video on Saturday.

“I know how to cook, but I’m not an expert. When I was working in Europe I had to learn to cook. I used to stay alone, so I had to learn. I can cook basic dishes. But I am not an expert,” Mr Gandhi says in the video, adding that “Lalu Yadav ji makes great food”.  

Lalu Yadav, a famous practitioner of repeat-worthy dialogue, on being asked by the Congress leader when did he learn to cook, says, “I was in 6th or 7th standard. I had gone to Patna to meet my brothers, who were working there then. They had called me. I used to cook for them, gather firewood, wash utensils and grind the spices. I learnt it all there.”

In the seven-minute video, the veteran Bihar leader can be seen instructing Rahul Gandhi on various steps involved in cooking the special dish: adding spices, marinating the meat and then putting it all in the handi.

As the dish was getting ready, Rahul Gandhi asks Mr Yadav about the secret spice in politics.

“The secret spice is hard work. To fight against injustice,” says Mr Yadav.

How is this (cooking) different from politics? asks Rahul Gandhi, reminding the leader that he likes to “mix everything in politics”.

“Yes, I do. Politics is impossible without a little mixing,” says Mr Yadav.

During their conversation, Mr Gandhi asks the senior leader what was his advice for next generation of politicians?

“My suggestion is that your parents, your grandparents led the nation onto a new path, the path of righteousness, you should never forget that,” says Mr Yadav.

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav and his sister Misa Bharti were also present during the dinner.

All of them then can be seen around a big dining table enjoying the dish. At the end, Mr Gandhi also gets the mutton dish packed for his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.