'Nitish Kumar Is Behaving Oddly'

'We used to discuss how image-conscious Nitish Kumar was and his sophisticated conduct in public life. All this has become a thing of the past.'

Amid speculation swirling over the mental wellbeing of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, after he first left the dais before the national anthem was played, brought back and then was caught on camera talking, laughing and fidgeting during the anthem at an official function in Patna on Wednesday, his main political rival the Rashtriya Janata Dal has termed it an insult to the nation and claimed that Kumar is mentally unfit to continue as CM.

Opposition RJD, Congress and Left parties' MLAs demanded Kumar's resignation at a protest in the state assembly complex during the ongoing Budget session. "He seems not stable physically and mentally. He is the chief minister of a large state like Bihar, and his continuation as CM not respectful to the state and its people," they said.

Taking advantage of Kumar's behaviour and body language during the national anthem, RJD chief Lalu Prasad's family -- including his wife and former chief minister Rabri Devi, their younger son and leader of the Opposition in the assembly Tejashwi Yadav, daughters Dr Misa Bharti, a Rajya Sabha MP, and Dr Rohini Acharya, who unsuccessfully contested the last Lok Sabha polls -- launched a scathing attack against the chief minister.

They said Kumar was not stable physically and mentally, not mentally fit, and urgently required medical treatment.

However, Lalu Prasad, who Kumar has described as 'Bade Bhai' and is known to enjoy a different equation with the CM going back years, remained silent.

But Lalu's wife Rabri pulled no punches.

"Agar Nitish Kumar ka dimaag theek nahi hai toh istifa dekar apne bete Nishant ya kisi aur ko mukhyamantri bana de (If Nitish Kumar's mental health is not okay, he shuld resign and make his son Nishant or any other leader CM)," said Rabri.

Tejashwi, former deputy chief minister under Nitish Kumar, charged chacha (uncle) Kumar has disrespected the anthem and shamed Bihar and its people.

"This is the first time in India's history that a chief minister was caught insulting the national anthem."

Misa Bharti said it appears that Kumar is not fit physically and mentally.

Similarly, her younger sister Rohini Acharya said Kumar urgently needed medical treatment in view of his mental health.

This was not the first time that Kumar, a seasoned politician who is also president of the Janata Dal-United, a major ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party, was targeted over his behaviour.

In recent months Kumar has stunned all by his gestures at different public functions.

But his actions during the national anthem strengthened rumours of his deteriorating mental health.

"It is really a matter of serious concern, Kumar has been behaving differently. He was known for his image-consciousness and used to be very careful in public while speaking, sitting and doing anything. Now it seems Kumar has changed, he is not the same Kumar," said a senior JD-U leader, who has been with Kumar since the mid-1990s -- the days of Samata Party -- on condition that he not be named.

"There are people close to him including his family members and few JD-U leaders who are reluctant to say anything about his mental health. But they admit in private that Kumar is behaving and speaking differently," he added.

Another senior JD-U leader and former MP, who is considered close to Kumar, said it was true that Kumar is no more what he was till a few years ago.

"We used to discuss how image-conscious Kumar was and his sophisticated conduct in public life. All this has become a thing of the past. Now Kumar is behaving oddly, much to our embarrassment but we have to defend him, there is no option."

Both JD-U leaders said it was difficult to say in what shape his health will be during the Bihar assembly polls due in October-November.

With Kumar under attack from the Opposition, his party, the JD-U, on Friday tried to downplay Kumar's alleged insult to the national anthem.

Bihar Minister and senior JD-U leader Ashok Choudhary said, "Nitish Kumar se bada deshbhakt poorey Hindustan mein nahi hai (There is no greater patriot in all of Hindustan than Nitish Kumar)."

JD-U Chief pokesperson Neeraj Kumar said Kumar is the son of a freedom-fighter and cannot disrespect the national anthem.

In recent months local Hindi newspapers have reported incidents where Kumar was seen bowing down to touch Prime Minister Narendra Modi's feet at official functions or even with other leaders, and at times he even tried to touch the feet of a few officers including an engineer.

Sometimes he hugged a Bihar minister, and his behaviour in the assembly and outside has also raised eyebrows.

"Kumar tried to touch the feet of senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad at a function in Patna in March. Prasad is younger to him and this incident surprised all," a senior BJP leader said.

The latter recalled that in 2023, Kumar's speech in the state assembly on sex education came under widespread criticism.

Known for using words selectively in his speech, Kumar's comments against women was unexpected and raised questions over his mental health.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com