Nitish Kumar courts controversy for placing flower pot IAS officer’s head

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar places a flower pot on the head of Additional Chief Secretary, Education, S. Siddharth during a programme, in Patna, Monday, May 26, 2025. | Photo Credit: PTI

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday (May 26, 2025) once again found himself in an embarrassing situation when he placed a flower pot on the head of an IAS officer — S. Siddharth, Additional Chief Secretary, Education Department — who presented the pot to welcome him at a function in Patna.

Mr. Kumar was attending a programme at Lalit Narayan Mishra Institute of Economic Development and Social Change where he was scheduled to hand over appointment letters to 20 Assistant Professors.

When the programme started, the 1991 batch IAS officer, Mr. Siddharth, went ahead to welcome him and gifted a flower pot in the presence of Education Department Minister Sunil Kumar and Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Deepak Kumar.

Soon after receiving it, Mr. Kumar put the flower pot on Mr. Siddharth’s head in front of the professors and other dignitaries present at the occasion.

Seeing this strange act, people present in the hall started laughing. Many were surprised to see the Chief Minister handing out such treatment to a senior IAS officer who also held the post of Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) of Cabinet Secretariat Department.

Past precedents

This was not the first time Mr. Kumar had behaved so; in January, he suddenly started clapping after paying floral tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his 77th death anniversary.

In March, during the inaugural function of the SepakTakraw World Cup in Patna’s Patliputra Indoor Stadium, Mr. Kumar was seen laughing and talking to his Principal Secretary during the national anthem.

He had received criticism from Opposition party leaders, including Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad, who demanded an apology from him; the matter was even raised in the Legislative Assembly.

In January, he courted controversy with a purported “sexist” remark that girls did not wear clothes in the past. He made the remark while interacting with a group of Jeevika Didis in Begusarai.

Last November, during the Winter Session of the Assembly, Mr. Kumar was found touching the bracelet of his Cabinet colleague Ashok Choudhary when he was replying to a question from the Opposition in the House. When Mr. Choudhary was speaking, the ‘rudrakash’ attached to the bracelet was shaking; Mr. Kumar turned back and touched his bracelet after which the Mr. Choudhary started laughing.

In the same month, during an event in Darbhanga, Mr. Kumar had made an attempt to touch the feet of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, receiving criticism from Opposition leaders, including Mr. Prasad, who called him a helpless Chief Minister.

New projects

Later on Monday, Mr. Kumar laid the foundation stone by unveiling the plaque of the Annexe Building costing ₹2.87 crore, Warden Block costing ₹4.90 crore, and Startup Block costing ₹5.33 crore at the Lalit Narayan Mishra Institute of Economic Development and Social Change.

After this, he handed over appointment letters to 20 Assistant Professors selected by the Bihar University Service Commission.

Published - May 26, 2025 10:39 pm IST