NEW DELHI: RJD leader and Leader of the Opposition in Bihar, Tejashwi Yadav once again questioned chief minister Nitish Kumar’s health and fitness to continue leading the state, sharing a video of him from a recent rally.Posting the clip on X, Tejashwi wrote, “If the chief minister is healthy, then why is he acting like this while reading a written speech?” The footage showed Nitish Kumar attempting to garland BJP candidate Rama Nishad during a rally, only to be stopped by JD(U) MP Sanjay Jha. The chief minister then handed the garland to Nishad, and as she accepted it, he placed it around her neck himself. Turning to Jha in apparent irritation, Nitish remarked, “Gazab aadmi hai.” In the same rally, Nitish Kumar had launched a pointed attack on his rival Lalu Prasad Yadav, accusing him of doing “nothing for women” during his tenure and installing his wife, Rabri Devi, as chief minister when he was forced to step down over the fodder scam. “Some people only cared about their own wives or their own families, but we work for the benefit of all people,” Nitish said, while highlighting the state government’s work for women’s empowerment over the past seven years. Tejashwi, meanwhile, used the opportunity to renew his criticism of Nitish’s mental state, a line of attack he has pursued for months. In an earlier post, he had asked, “How does it feel to see the chief minister of a state in such a pathetic condition? Does the honourable chief minister appear mentally healthy to you while engaging in such bizarre antics?” He went on to allege that Nitish’s party, which he called the “special pawn of the BJP,” may have “deliberately put him in this state by feeding him prasad or other food items under some pretext.”With Assembly elections approaching later this year, the RJD leader has sharpened his attacks, suggesting that Nitish’s behaviour raises serious questions about his ability to govern.
