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Patna: A fierce political confrontation was witnessed in the Bihar assembly on Friday as CM Samrat Choudhary and leader of opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav locked horns during the confidence motion debate, turning the proceedings into a sharp exchange of personal and political attacks.The confrontation began when Tejashwi targeted Samrat’s political past, saying that the CM was “a product of Lalu Prasad’s Pathshala.” Referring to Samrat’s early political journey in the RJD, Tejashwi asserted that Bihar’s politics would continue to revolve around RJD chief Lalu Prasad. He also intensified his criticism by describing Samrat as a “selected” rather than an “elected” CM, alleging that Nitish Kumar had been removed by the BJP to make way for him.Samrat responded strongly, rejecting the suggestion that his rise was shaped by Lalu. In a pointed rebuttal, he said, “Satta kisi ki bapauti nahin hai (Power is not anyone’s ancestral property)”, and added the CM’s post was the blessing of Bihar’s 14 crore people. Looking toward the opposition benches, he urged rivals to abandon what he called the mindset of treating power as a family inheritance and accept the reality of a changing Bihar.
The CM then turned the debate personal, accusing Lalu of having subjected his family to political persecution. Samrat alleged that the RJD chief had sent him and 22 members of his family to jail and said those hardships had strengthened him politically. “If Lalu had not perpetrated atrocities on me, I wouldn’t have become the CM of Bihar today,” Samrat said. Framing his rise as a result of resilience rather than patronage, he dismissed Tejashwi’s “Lalu’s classroom” remark.Samrat also sought to challenge the RJD’s political narrative by claiming that Lalu himself would not have become CM in 1990 without the support of Nitish. According to him, Nitish first helped Lalu become leader of opposition and later supported his elevation to the top post in Bihar.Tejashwi, while opposing the confidence motion, accused the BJP of politically finishing Nitish by forcing him to step down despite earlier projecting him as the face of the alliance until 2030.
He said Bihar had suffered political instability, pointing out that the state had seen five govts in the last five years. He also claimed that several senior BJP leaders were unhappy with Samrat Choudhary’s elevation and warned the new CM to remain cautious of elements within his own party and the RSS.Despite the heated debate, the BJP-led NDA govt comfortably won the trust motion by voice vote in the 243-member assembly, whose effective strength currently stands at 242 following the resignation of Nitin Nabin.
The ruling alliance had the support of 201 legislators. The confidence motion became necessary after Samrat took oath as Bihar’s first BJP CM on April 15 following Nitish’s resignation and move to the Rajya Sabha.Speaking in support of the motion, Samrat thanked PM Narendra Modi, Union home minister AmitShah and former CM Nitish Kumar for their support and blessings. He said his govt would continue on the path of “sushasan” associated with Nitish and promised no compromise on what he called the “three Cs — crime, corruption and communalism.”On governance and development, Samrat said Bihar had attracted Rs 1.36 lakh crore in private investment over the past year and set an ambitious target of drawing more than Rs 5 lakh crore in investments within one year. He assured the House that women’s safety and progress would remain a priority and said Bihar Police would act firmly against those who threaten women and girls. He also announced that the Chief Minister’s Office would directly monitor work in blocks, circles and police stations to improve delivery of public services.Tejashwi also used the debate to raise broader social issues, arguing that women’s reservation must include a quota within quota to ensure fair representation for dalits, OBCs and extremely backward classes.
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