Former Bihar Chief Minister and senior RJD leader, Rabri Devi suggested Sushil Kumar Modi to ‘come and take away Nitish Kumar and get him married to his sister’.
The retort came in reply to a question from a television news channel journalist about Sushil Kumar Modi’s recent ‘invitation’ to Kumar to join NDA.
A usually witty Rabri Devi said, “Nitish Kumar ko aakar le jaayen Modijee. Le jaake apni behen se shadi kara dein.” (Let Sushil Kumar Modi come and take away Nitish Kumar and get him married with his sister).
#WATCH: Rabri Devi speaking on BJP leader Sushil Modi pic.twitter.com/M6y5AFtlMO
— ANI (@ANI_news) November 29, 2016
Janata Dal leaders, when asked about it, were left speechless. Rabri Devi, who is the wife of RJD chief and former Bihar CM Lalu Prasad Yadav, is an MLC. She is also the mother of two current ministers in the Bihar government – deputy chief minister Tejaswi Yadav and health minister Tej Pratap Yadav.
Devi, however, later described her controversial statement as one she made in a ‘majekiya lehze me’ (lighter vein), but it was after her original words had lent themselves to criticism by several leaders and a counter allegation levelled by Sushil Kumar Modi.
Par isme kya aapatti ki baat hai? Thoda hassi mazzak karliya to kya? Sabhi karte hain na? : Rabri Devi, Former Bihar CM pic.twitter.com/WtDjQL5Sau
— ANI (@ANI_news) November 29, 2016
“Rabri Devi has simply cast aspersions on Nitish Kumar by this statement. Now it is up to Nitish Kumar to respond to such words of his ally,” said Modi.
“Rabri is infamous for making such statements. Earlier, when JD(U) and BJP were running an alliance government in Bihar and RJD was in Opposition, she had spoken in very bad taste about Nitish Kumar and JD(U) leader Lalan Singh,” he added.
That previous comment by Rabri Devi had prompted Lalan Singh to file a defamation case against Devi. “But he (Lalan Singh) withdrew that case after he became a minister (in the government in alliance with RJD and Congress),” said Modi.
“Political leaders should be careful in their choice of words,” said Shyam Rajak, senior JD(U) leader.
“She should be careful in her comments as RJD is JD(U)’s ruling ally and the biggest among the three parties in the grand alliance in Bihar.”
