Bihar has witnessed yet another flare-up from its Chief Minister Nitish Kumar against the use of the English language, this time inside the State legislature.
The septuagenarian was visibly upset, on Monday, inside the Legislative Council of which he is also a member, upon seeing the display board on which things were written in English.
In a video clip that has gone viral, Mr. Kumar can be seen snapping at Chairman Devesh Chandra Thakur, who incidentally belongs to his JD(U), with the remark "I can see words like honourable and speaking time. What is the point? Do you intend to finish off Hindi? [Hindi ko Khatm kar dijiyega kya]".
The exchange took place for less than a minute as the Chairman can be heard pacifying the Chief Minister with the assurance that amends will be made.
The incident was reminiscent of the dressing down given by Mr. Kumar to an upwardly mobile farmer last month when the latter, a management graduate, used many English words while narrating his switch over from a plum job in Pune to taking up cultivation at his native district of Sheikhpura for which, ironically, he was also lavishing praise on the government in the State.
The BJP, which has itself faced accusations of Hindi chauvinism from time to time, used the opportunity to target Mr. Kumar, who had been an ally till less than a year ago.
"It seems that the Chief Minister is under tremendous pressure and frustrated at his inability to keep things under control after joining the RJD-led ‘Mahagathbandhan’. This shows in frequent outbursts", said former Minister Neeraj Singh Babloo.
State BJP spokesperson Nikhil Anand was more explicit in a tweet wherein he alleged that the Chief Minister’s behaviour was like "a bull getting mad at a red piece of cloth" and denoted "psychological illness".
Another BJP leader, Haribhushan Thakur Bachol, who remains in news for provocative statements, demanded that a "health card" of the Chief Minister be issued so that people could be assured that the State was in "safe hands".
He also cited a slip of tongue by Mr. Kumar inside the Assembly on Monday when he spoke of having been ‘grih Mantri’ (Home Minister) in the government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, despite having never held the portfolio.
Mr. Bachol was quickly hauled over the coals by RJD MLA and chief spokesperson Bhai Virendra who said the BJP leader "will himself be properly treated (khud unka ilaaj kar diya jaaega) by the Chief Minister and his Deputy Tejashwi Yadav".
Veteran JD(U) leader and Minister Shravan Kumar berated Bachol, reminding the MLA that "nobody, even in his own party, takes note of him".
