New Delhi: ‘Nayan sekne ja rahe hain‘ — Lalu Prasad Yadav’s comment on the ‘mahila sambad yatra‘ proposed by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has kicked up a ‘sexism’ row in Bihar, where women have emerged as a vote bank that parties want to tap into before the state assembly elections next year.
While lending his voice to the growing chorus supporting Mamata Banerjee’s pitch for the INDIA bloc head, Lalu Prasad Yadav, on Tuesday, made the controversial remark in response to a question on the ‘mahila sambad yatra‘, announced by Nitish Kumar to interact with the women beneficiaries of the state government’s welfare schemes.
Soon after, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary criticised the “distasteful remark about women of the state”. “Bihar CM Nitish Kumar is going to have a conversation with the women of Bihar, and the type of words Lalu Prasad has used — we knew that he is physically ill, but now we can say that he is mentally ill also… He needs treatment,” he remarked.
The other deputy CM of Bihar, Vijay Sinha, commented: “Such language does not suit a person sitting in a constitutional position. These people have defamed Bihar… Bihar wants to be free from such people.”
Speaking to ThePrint, Janata Dal (United) spokesperson Rajiv Ranjan Prasad strongly criticised Lalu Prasad’s comments, saying, “Lalu must not know how the people of Bihar tolerated him in the past! These are people with a deplorable mindset. Their true character has been revealed now. He is anti-women.”
Another JD(U) leader, Neerja Kumar, attacked Lalu Prasad, saying, “The truth is that when you were in jail, your body remained imprisoned in the Hotwar jail and your mind in shepherd’s school.”
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Lalu-Nitish: Remarks on women, controversies
This is not the first time Lalu Prasad’s comment on women has created a controversy. In 2023, Lalu Prasad, responding to Union Minister Nityanand Rai’s remark that he overlooked other capable Yadav community leaders when he installed Rabri Devi as CM after his arrest in the fodder scam, asked whether he should have installed Rai’s wife and not his as CM. Lalu Prasad’s jibe came under heavy attack then.
On the other hand, Nitish Kumar’s comments on women controlling the population and Lalu having too many children have triggered similar controversies in the past.
In 2023, Nitish Kumar, then in alliance with the RJD, stressed the importance of educating women on population control, explaining how educated women can encourage their husbands to practise restraint during sexual intercourse.
“The husband’s acts led to more births. However, with education, a woman knows how to restrain him… this is why the number (of births) is coming down…You, journalists, also understand it well. Earlier, it (fertility rate) was 4.3, but it has reached 2.9. And soon, we will reach 2,” Kumar explained.
There was an uproar over the statement by the BJP, which was then in Opposition in Bihar. However, then-deputy CM from RJD Tejashwi Yadav defended Nitish Kumar for creating awareness about sex education, saying that “it is wrong to misinterpret Kumar’s statement”.
“Let me clarify something. Whatever the chief minister was saying was about sex education. People become hesitant about this topic, but schools teach this — in science and biology. Children learn this. He said what needs to be done practically to control the population. It should not be taken in the wrong manner.”
At the time, the Leader of Opposition (LoP) from the BJP, Vijay Kumar Sinha, demanded Nitish Kumar dissolve the assembly as his mental state was not stable enough to contest elections. He said a person who is not mentally sound should not hold any key post, including the chief ministerial post, according to the Constitution.
Later, Nitish Kumar had to apologise for his comment.
After his NDA switch in 2023, he courted controversy after a personal attack on Lalu Prasad during the Lok Sabha polls. While campaigning in Kathiaron, he said Lalu Prasad did not do any work during his tenure and “only produced children”.
“When removed from the post of chief minister, he made his wife the chief minister. And now he is making all efforts to settle his children in politics. He produced so many children. There was no need for so many children. First, two sons and now daughters are in politics,” he continued.
Despite the provocation, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav did not attack Nitish Kumar during his campaign. ”Nitish ji is a respected person, and he is my guardian. He can say anything to us. He has said such things earlier also. His every word is a blessing for me,” he instead said.
A senior JD(U) leader told ThePrint on the condition of anonymity, “Women have become an important constituency in Indian politics. Through his initiative for providing cycles to girl children or his Jeevika Didi scheme, Nitish Kumar has set a template for women empowerment in Bihar. He implemented prohibition in the state after complaints from women. Now in his 15th yatra, Nitish Kumar again wants to reach out to women to hear what they say about his seven commitments and their implementation in the last five years,” he said.
Nitish Kumar’s seven commitments, announced before the last assembly polls in Bihar, included economic development of youth, job quota for women, electric and tap water, toilets in each house, cemented lanes and drainage in villages, and creation of job and trade opportunities. The Jeevika Didi scheme helps rural women in Bihar with bank accounts and livelihood opportunities.
“Women have always backed Nitish Kumar. Other CMs replicated Nitish Kumar’s women-led development model in the state…Opposition is disturbed about losing the women voters, and remarks like Lalu Prasad’s show their desperation,” the JD(U) leader added.
A BJP leader in Bihar told ThePrint, “Nitish is considering a financial benefit scheme for women… In other states, the BJP has secured electoral mandates using schemes for women. Nitish’s ‘mahila sambad yatra‘ is crucial before next year’s election for consolidating women voters. Nitish has cultivated his support across women-dominated constituencies over the years. The RJD banked on the youth segment but needs to create a dent in the vote bank of women to get a sizable number of seats. That is why the RJD is desperate to attack Nitish.”
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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