Amid a spate of Bihar killings, Chirag Paswan joins Opposition fireworks against Nitish govt

Indian Express

13-07-2025

With the Bihar Assembly elections due in a few months, the criticism of the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government's handling of law and order has intensified. Besides the Opposition Mahagathbandhan leaders, some leaders of even the ruling coalition are now expressing concerns over the 'deteriorating' law and order situation in the state following several recent murder incidents.
On Saturday, referring to such killings, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief and Union Minister Chirag Paswan, a key NDA ally, slammed the Nitish government. 'Bihari ab aur kitni hatyaon ki bhet chadhenge? Samajh se pare hai ki Bihar Police ki zimmedari kya hai? (How many more Biharis will fall victim to killings? It's beyond understanding what the responsibility of Bihar Police actually is),' Chirag said in a post on X.
Reacting to Chirag's comments, Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Assembly and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav said, 'Jaake Pradhan Mantri ji se bolen ki jungle raj aa gaya hai (He should tell the Prime Minister that jungle rule has taken over in Bihar).'
In the last few days, several killings have been reported from across the state, including two incidents each in state capital Patna and Nalanda, and one in Buxar.
In east Patna's Ramakrishna Nagar, 40-year-old shop owner Vikram Jha was gunned down Friday night, while sand-trader Ramkant Yadav, 50, was shot dead outside his home in west Patna's Rani Bazar area on July 10, police sources said.
A 60-year-old nurse of the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) was allegedly shot dead in the Nalanda district, Nitish's home turf, over a land dispute on Saturday. The same morning, 20 year old Rahul Yadav was shot dead while sleeping beside a borewell in his field in Buxar's Brahmpur police station area.
On Saturday afternoon, a man identified as Ravi Kumar was gunned down over a land dispute in the Nagarnausa police station area in Nalanda, police sources said. On Friday night, 21-year-old Raju Kumar was shot dead in Beldour area in Khagaria.
Following these incidents, Tejashwi took to social media to criticise the Bihar government. After Ramkant Yadav's murder, Tejashwi said in a post on X, 'Businessman shot dead in Patna. Chaotic situation in the state under the leadership of an unconscious Chief Minister! BJP ministers and leaders are busy and engrossed in looting Bihar with criminals and corrupt individuals.'
After Vikram Jha's killing, Tejashwi said, 'Yet another businessman, Vikram Jha, shot dead in Patna! … Who is responsible for the hundreds of murders happening every day? The corrupt 'Bhunja Party' must answer.'
While the Opposition leaders have been regularly attacking the government, it was not the first time Chirag castigated the NDA government over its law and order track record.
On July 7, following the murders of a minor and a 20-year-old woman in Nalanda district, stemming from a scuffle between the children of two neighbouring families, the LJP(RV) chief said the incident was 'unfortunate and condemnable', arguing that such crimes 'demonstrate the complete collapse of law and order in Bihar'. 'This heinous incident not only shakes the conscience of humanity, but also demonstrates that law and order in Bihar has completely collapsed… For such an incident to be carried out by criminals in the home district of the honourable Chief Minister clearly shows the morale of the criminals is at an all-time high,' Chirag had said on X.
But Bihar has since witnessed a spate of violent crimes. On July 8, prominent Patna businessman Gopal Khemka was shot dead by a bike-borne assailant while he was in his car outside his residential complex in the posh Gandhi Maidan locality of the state capital.
Khemka's killing drew widespread outrage from the public and Opposition, prompting an urgent review meeting held by the CM with top police officials the following day.
After the meeting, Nitish Kumar had said law and order is the government's 'top priority'. 'Whoever commits a crime will not be spared under any circumstances… The police and administration have been directed to act with full alertness and strictness to maintain law and order,' the CM, who is also the Janata Dal (United) president, said on X.
After Khemka's murder, the state government has been facing a growing chorus of criticism as other violent crimes were reported from different parts of the state.
While Tejashwi has been among the first leaders to react to such incidents in Bihar, Chirag's stance has made some NDA leaders, particularly from the JD(U), uncomfortable.
Amid the ongoing electoral roll revision in Bihar, which has sparked a major row, Chirag's criticism has come at a difficult time for Nitish, whose rivals believe his innings at the helm of Bihar was heading into the sunset.
The LJP(RV) chief has been positioning himself to play a larger role in Bihar politics. A senior state BJP leader told The Indian Express that Chirag's focus on the Bihar affairs shows that 'he wants to be the next Nitish Kumar in state politics'.