Nitish Kumar Loses Cool After Seeing English Display Board At Bihar Vidhan Parishad: 'Ye Sab Faltu Cheej Hai...'

New Delhi: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has once again fumed at the use of the English language, this time after seeing directives written on the LED display board of the Bihar Vidhan Parishad in Patna. The JD(U) chief, who was participating in the budget session on Monday (March 20, 2023), got angry when he entered the House and saw a display board on which things were written in English. In a video clip that is now going viral, the septuagenarian can be seen snapping at Chairman Devesh Chandra Thakur, who incidentally belongs to his JD(U), with the remark "I can see words like honourable and speaking time. What is the point? Do you intend to finish off Hindi? (Hindi ko khatam kar dijiyega kya)".

"What are the instructions written on the display board?... Ye sab faltu cheej hai (These are useless). Please, rectify it soon. All the instructions should be written in Hindi...," Nitish, who is Bihar's longest-serving chief minister, told the speaker.

He further demanded the Speaker the English display board be replaced with the Hindi display board, following which Thakur assured him that it will be done immediately.

The exchange took place for less than a minute as the Chairman can be heard pacifying him with the assurance that amends will be made.

अंग्रेजी शब्द सुनते ही न जाने नीतीश कुमार को क्या हो जाता है...#english #word #nitish #nitishkumar pic.twitter.com/nem4WALr0H — UB News (@UBNewsbj) March 20, 2023

Not the first time Nitish Kumar has lost temper over use of English

It was not the first time that Nitish has lost his temper over the use of the English language.

Earlier last month, the Bihar Chief Minister had slammed a state government official for delivering a speech in English during an event. 

He was seen yelling at the Bihar government officer for "forgetting Hindi" during the 'Kisan Samagam' in the state capital Patna. 

"What is this? Can you not say 'sarkaari yojana'? I am an engineer by training and my medium of instruction was English. But it is another thing to use the language for academic pursuits. Why must you do so in day-to-day life?" Kumar said.

He also told the gathering that they should not forget Hindi, which is their main language. 

"What has happened to us? During Covid, people were stuck to their screens and after that everything changed, and people have forgotten their language. This is not right. You should use your state's language," Kumar said.

"I want to point out to you the incongruity of using so many English words. Is it England? You are working in Bihar, practising agriculture which is the profession of the common folks," Kumar told the official, following which he resumed his speech in Hindi.

#WATCH | "Farming is being done by a common man, you are called here to give suggestions but you are speaking in English. Is it England? This is India & it's Bihar...": Bihar CM Nitish Kumar interrupts a farmer while latter was delivering a speech during an event in Patna (21.02) pic.twitter.com/AUhzAlCnfU — ANI (@ANI) February 21, 2023

Nitish Kumar has serious psychological illness: BJP after Bihar CM gets angry at English

The BJP, which has itself faced accusations of Hindi chauvinism from time to time, used the Monday incident to target Nitish Kumar, who had been their ally till less than a year ago.

State BJP spokesperson Nikhil Anand was more explicit in a tweet wherein he alleged that Nitish Kumar's behaviour was like "a bull getting mad at a red piece of cloth" and denoted "psychological illness".

"Bihar CM Shri Nitish Kumar ji has a serious psychological illness. Nitishji wanders on hearing English just like a bull gets enraged on seeing a red cloth. Nitishji has become Narcissist, self- proclaimed and self-centric, is blowing own trumpet at the cost of public," Anand wrote on Twitter.

Bihar CM Shri @NitishKumar ji has a serious psychological illness.

Nitishji wanders on hearing English just like a bull gets enraged on seeing a red cloth.

Nitishji has become Narcissist, self- proclaimed and self-centric, is blowing own trumpet at the cost of public. #Bihar — Nikhil Anand (@NikhilAnandBJP) March 20, 2023

Another BJP leader, Haribhushan Thakur Bachol, who remains in news for provocative statements, demanded that a "health card" of the chief minister be issued so that people could be assured that the state was in "safe hands".

He also cited a slip of tongue by Kumar inside the assembly on Monday when he spoke of having been ?grih Mantri' (Home Minister) in the government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, despite having never held the portfolio.

Bachol was quickly hauled over the coals by RJD MLA and chief spokesperson Bhai Virendra who said the BJP leader "will himself be properly treated (khud unka ilaaj kar diya jaaega) by the chief minister and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav".