logo
Nitish berates Opposition members for coming to Assembly dressed in black

Nitish berates Opposition members for coming to Assembly dressed in black

The Hindu25-07-2025
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday (July 25, 2025) berated Opposition MLAs for turning up at the Assembly wearing black shirts, as a mark of protest against the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
The longest serving CM of the State expressed his vexation on the final day of the monsoon session, which is the current Assembly's last before fresh elections, to be announced in barely a couple of months from now.
As Speaker Nand Kishor Yadav started conducting the Question Hour, Opposition members were on their feet, raising slogans against the exercise, which has kept the assembly on the boil so far.
Mr. Yadav remarked, in jest, "It is raining today. The weather is cool. Why are you people getting heated? Allow the House to function. This is the last day".
Soon afterwards, the Chief Minister rose in his chair and said, "These people who are making so much noise understand nothing about legislative business. They have never done anything worthwhile".
When some of the Opposition members protested, the 75-year-old Leader of the House retorted, "Why on earth are you wearing black clothes? I have been seeing you people do so for the last few days. Have you ever done so before?".
Interestingly, quite a few MLAs of Mr. Kumar's JD(U) and his ally BJP had come to the House wearing helmets, claiming that they feared getting hit by the unruly Opposition members.
The Speaker pleaded with the opposition members, some of whom had by the time entered the well, to behave themselves, pointing out that some school children had been invited to watch the proceedings of the House.
However, some of the opposition members continued creating a ruckus, and tried to overturn furniture meant for the reporting staff.
Subsequently, the Speaker adjourned the House till 2 pm, within minutes of the commencement of proceedings.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Palaniswami flays Communist parties as ‘slaves' of DMK
Palaniswami flays Communist parties as ‘slaves' of DMK

The Hindu

time2 minutes ago

  • The Hindu

Palaniswami flays Communist parties as ‘slaves' of DMK

AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami. on Thursday said that irrespective of poll alliances, the functioning of political parties, post-election, should be based on their independent ideology. Addressing the people during his Makkalai Kaappom, Tamizhagathai Meetpom campaign at Rajapalayam, Mr. Palaniswami flayed the Communist parties for becoming 'slaves' of the DMK. 'As the principal opposition party, AIADMK has been raking up the problems faced by the people to the attention of the government. However, the Left parties do not criticise the ruling DMK both inside and outside the Assembly,' he said. While all political parties condemned the caste killing in Tirunelveli and sought a special law to curb the social menace, the allies of the DMK were in a pathetic state of seeking permission of DMK president M.K. Stalin to talk about the sensitive issue. The AIADMK has remained a force to reckon with due to its ideology, but the people's support to Communist parties was waning because they lacked ideology., he said. He reiterated that AIADMK's ideology and forming an election alliance were different issues altogether. 'We have formed an alliance based on the political situation, but even the DMK had political alliance with the BJP during the 1999 Lok Sabha and 2001 Assembly elections,' he pointed out to counter the criticism of CPI State secretary R. Mutharasan on AIADMK's alliance with the BJP. 'Do all parties of different States in INDI Alliance share the same ideology? The Congress is against the Communists in Kerala and against the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal,' he said. The Communist parties had failed to criticise the DMK on important issues suh as price rise, corporation workers' strike, Government employees demand for old pension scheme and the transport corporation employees' strike. 'The Left parties, which have remained aligned with the DMK for 10 long years, should then merge their parties with the DMK so that their ideologies remain the same [that of the DMK].' Left party leaders like P. Ramamoorthi and Kalyanasundaram joined AIADMK founder M.G. Ramachandran to give a long list of corruption charges against the then DMK Chief Minister, M. Karunanidhi, to the Governor. But, the present leaders were not so. 'DMK has been slowly gobbling up the Communist parties,' he said adding that the AIADMK was giving advice to the Communist parties with good intention. Party's Virudhunagar West district secretary K.T. Rajenthra Bhalaji was present. Mr. Palaniswami would also address meetings at Srivilliputtur and Sivakasi.

Bihar Assembly elections: Why women voters' turnout matters
Bihar Assembly elections: Why women voters' turnout matters

India Today

time10 minutes ago

  • India Today

Bihar Assembly elections: Why women voters' turnout matters

Women are once again at the centre of Bihar's electoral landscape as Assembly elections approach. The Nitish Kumar government recently announced a 35 per cent reservation for women in state government jobs, yet another in a series of women-centric policies by the Janata Dal (United) leader, who cultivated a loyal base of female voters through a slew of welfare political parties strategising for 2025, one trend is impossible to ignore: women are turning out in large numbers to vote. This is no longer a statistical anomaly. It has been a recurring theme. In the 2020 Assembly elections, women outvoted men in 167 of the 243 constituencies, most of them in northern Bihar. And the region leaned heavily towards the National Democratic the 2020 polls, women's turnout stood at 60 per cent, compared to 54 per cent for men. In 166 constituencies, women outnumbered male voters. The widest gender turnout gap was recorded in Baisi (Purnea district), where women's turnout was 22 percentage points higher than men's. Kusheshwar Asthan followed closely with a 21-percentage-point gap in favour of women. Both constituencies were won by the NDA. In the 2020 Assembly elections, women outvoted men in 167 of the 243 constituencies, most of them in northern Bihar. And the region leaned heavily towards the National Democratic trend was even more pronounced in 2015, when women outvoted men in 202 constituencies. Once again, northern Bihar led in female voter shift began in 2010, a turning point in Bihar's gender voting dynamics. That year, women's voter turnout surpassed men's in 162 constituencies. It was the first time that overall female turnout exceeded male Madhubani, which has 10 assembly constituencies, eight went to the NDA in the 2020 Assembly elections. All five seats in the Supaul district were won by the NDA. In Sitamarhi, the NDA secured six of eight seats, while in Darbhanga, it claimed nine out of ten in the last decades, men dominated Bihar's voter turnout. In the 1962 Assembly elections, 55 per cent of men voted, compared to just 32 per cent of women. This gender gap persisted until 2000. By February 2005, it had begun to close: 50 per cent of men and 43 per cent of women cast ballots in the first of the two Assembly elections held that came 2010, a historic turning point: 54 per cent of women voted, surpassing the 51 per cent turnout among men for the first time. In 2015, the gap widened further, with 60 per cent of women voting compared to just 50 per cent of 1962, women's turnout has risen by 28 percentage points, effectively reversing the gender gap at the ballot box and establishing women as one of the most powerful voting blocs in Bihar today.(With inputs from Smriti Thakur)- EndsTune InMust Watch

Donald Trump calls for new and highly accurate census excluding undocumented immigrants
Donald Trump calls for new and highly accurate census excluding undocumented immigrants

Mint

time33 minutes ago

  • Mint

Donald Trump calls for new and highly accurate census excluding undocumented immigrants

US President Donald Trump has ordered the Commerce Department to create a new U.S. census that excludes undocumented immigrants, reviving a controversial policy from his first term. In a Truth Social post Thursday, Trump declared the count must reflect "modern day facts" and 2024 election data, stressing: 'People who are in our Country illegally will not be counted'. This directly challenges the Constitution's 14th Amendment, which requires counting the "whole number of persons" for congressional representation . The move comes amid aggressive immigration raids that have sunk Trump's approval on the issue to 41%, his lowest since taking office . Courts blocked this same effort in 2020, ruling only Congress can define who counts. The timing links to heated redistricting battles. Trump backs Texas Republicans pushing a new congressional map to gain 3-5 GOP House seats, prompting Democrats to flee the state to block the vote . "We are entitled to five more seats in Texas," Trump asserted this week . If undocumented immigrants are excluded, California, Florida, and Texas could each lose a House seat, while states like Minnesota would retain representation they'd otherwise lose. Blue-state governors like California's Gavin Newsom now threaten retaliatory gerrymandering. The census data also guides $1.5 trillion in annual federal funding for schools, hospitals, and roads, raising stakes for communities nationwide. Legal experts call the order "bonkers" and unconstitutional . Conducting a mid-decade census isn't authorized, and the Constitution mandates counts only every 10 years, with the next due in 2030. Commerce Department staff face logistical nightmares: The 2020 census cost $15.6 billion and took a decade to plan. Adding citizenship questions would yield "faulty data" and discourage Latino participation, Census Bureau researchers warn . Similar efforts failed in 2020 when the Supreme Court rejected Trump's citizenship question as "contrived" . President Biden reversed Trump's 2020 exclusion policy immediately upon taking office. The ACLU and immigrant-rights groups are preparing lawsuits, citing the administration's "pattern of reshaping basic measures" to favor Republicans . Trump recently fired the Bureau of Labor Statistics chief after jobs data revisions undermined his economic claims. With the census already testing 2030 operations this fall, the order injects chaos, and ensures America's count remains a political battleground .

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store