Following a 25-minute speech riddled with embarrassing moments, Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar was seen patting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s feet as they shared the platform in Nawada today. I overheard the PM making fun of Mr. Kumar while he seemed to be waiting for him to finish. A leader who overheard them said, “You gave such a good speech there is nothing left for me to say.” PM Modi was cited as saying this. The Chief Minister grinned, bowed, and touched his feet at this.
Mr Kumar’s speech went viral on social media shortly.
The part where the Chief Minister is heard declaring that the Prime Minister will receive all of the votes in the upcoming general elections because he will be “back with four la — (checks himself) 4000 MPs” is particularly noteworthy.
The Lok Sabha now has 543 members, and PM Modi has set the NDA’s goal of 400 members.
There were further faux pas. Furthermore, a BJP senior said in private that his government’s focus on graveyard fencing was a “completely avoidable mention.”
At one point, the senior leader of Mr. Kumar’s Janata Dal United, Vijay Kumar Choudhary, was spotted fidgeting and looking at his watch while seated in the first row of the dais. Then, maybe to conclude his remarks, he made a gesture towards the Chief Minister. It was even observed that a few leaders were on their feet, eagerly glancing at the platform.
However, Mr. Kumar took his time and was done in a few minutes.
According to BJP sources, Mr. Kumar is not required to show up for any more meetings now that the seat sharing negotiations have concluded.
More than anything else, Mr. Kumar’s gaffe has garnered media attention in the past few years. He was forced to apologise after offending many people with his insensitive comments about female impregnation and how education is related to it.
When a man voiced concerns about a matter pertaining to the state home ministry in September of last year at a Janta Darbar session, Mr. Kumar instructed an official to contact the home minister, oblivious to the fact that he is the one holding the home portfolio.
Rashtriya Janata Dal Chief Tejashwi Yadav, who was Mr Kumar’s former deputy, commented, “Today I saw a picture of Nitish Kumar where he touched the feet of PM Narendra Modi.”
“We felt very bad. What has happened? Nitish Kumar is our guardian…There is no other Chief Minister as experienced as Nitish Kumar and he is touching the feet of Prime Minister Modi,” he told reporters.
