NEW DELHI: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Friday once again indulged into a heated argument with an RJD MLC, claiming that women had no issues in the state. This came after the opposition party leader questioned the JDU government over higher education of females in the state.
Urmila Thakur was voicing her dissatisfaction with education minister Sunil Kumar’s response to a question she had raised in the House when the chief minister began recounting what his government had done for the female literacy in the state. Thakur highlighted the situation in her Begusarai district, where many girls are deprived of education due to the need to walk four to five kilometers to reach the nearest school.
The chief minister defended his government saying, “Do you people even know what we have done for girls’ education? Village girls hardly went to schools in Bihar until we came to power.”
Citing her own example, Thakur responded saying, “Sir please do not say that. I too hail from a village. I belong to an older generation, yet I did complete my schooling.”
Another RJD MLC Munni Devi Rajak then stepped in, and questioned the seasoned leader: “You have no idea what has been done by us for women. You may be women yourselves but what has been your contribution?”
Visibly offended by this, Kumar stood up launched a direct swipe at former CM Rabri Devi saying, “When her husband began to sink, he installed his wife (in the CM’s post).”
He further attacked the RJD’s reign and said, “Your party (RJD) did nothing. You people know nothing. Whatever has been done for women, it has been done by me. Now women have no problems.”
According to the 2011 census, the female literacy rate in Bihar is 53.33% against a male literacy rate of 73.39%.
This comes after Kumar had landed himself in controversy for commenting on artorial preferences of women decades ago. “Girls have become so confident. They speak so well and dress up so well. Did we see them wearing such fine clothes earlier?” he had said. This had attracted criticism from RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav who had suggested him to “become a ‘women’s clothing scientist’!”
“You are CM not women fashion designer. Stop displaying your poor thinking by becoming a ‘women’s clothing expert’. This is not a statement, but a direct insult to half the population of Bihar,” he had said.