Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday slammed Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav during the Bihar Assembly session. Kumar claimed that his party Janata Dal United (JDU) broke the alliance with the RJD as Yadav's party was not performing well in the government.
On Wednesday, Yadav targeted the ruling JDU-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alliance over the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in the state ahead of the Bihar Assembly Elections 2025. Kumar interrupted the RJD leader and talked about the condition of the state during the time when his parents were in power.
"When you were young, your father remained chief minister for seven years, and your mother was chief minister for seven years. What was the situation that time?," Kumar stated.
Nitish Kumar's Statement:
"From 2006, we are doing alot for women in the state. What you guys had done for Muslims. We did all the work for them... We went with you for some time, but you were not doing the right thing, so we left you," the Bihar CM added.
"Kya tum jaante bhi ho?.. Tum toh bahot bachhe the. (Do you even know? You were a child) Did anyone dare leave home in Patna after dark?... Earlier, the condition of Bihar was very bad. What we have done since 2006, remember that," he further stated.
Notably, the opposition leaders were wearing black shirts in protest against the revision of electoral rolls by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Tejashwi Yadav's Statement:
The RJD leader questioned the timings of the EC's exercise just before the Bihar Assembly Elections. "We are not opposing the SIR, but the process is not transparent. The Election Commission says they received complaints that people from outside have come as voters here. This drive was carried out in 2003, and it took a year to complete," Yadav said as reported by The Times of India.
He further questioned whether, between 2003 and 2025, several elections were held. "Should we then say Nitish Kumar is a fake Chief Minister? All of us who were elected came here with the support of fake voters?" Yadav stated, as quoted by the media house.
What Is Special Intensive Revision?
The Special Intensive Revision is a large-scale drive to update and verify names on the electoral roll. Under constitutional provisions and the Representation of the People Act, the Election Commission (EC) is responsible for ensuring that only eligible citizens, aged 18 and above and ordinarily resident in the constituency, are included as voters.
Unlike regular annual revisions, a SIR involves a thorough review of the voter list. This means each voter must resubmit their details, and in many cases, provide supporting documents to confirm their identity, age, and place of birth.
The ECI has given 12 major political parties the details of over 29 lakh electors who have not returned Enumeration Forms (EFs) under the SIR of the roll in Bihar and a shared list of over 43 lakh electors not found at their addresses, an official said, as reported by IANS.
According to the EC, Bihar was selected for the initial phase of the SIR due to rapid demographic changes over the past two decades. As per the Commission, migration, urban expansion, and shifts in population raised concerns about duplicate and inaccurate entries.
