Nitish Kumar

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday urged the Centre to provide fresh stocks of COVID vaccine vials so that administering of jabs, which is currently on hold, could be resumed. Talking to reporters here on the sidelines of a function, he also asserted that his government was "alert" in view of rising incidence of COVID cases in some parts of the country, though Bihar was not one of them. "Our testing rate is much higher than the national average, which is six lakh tests per one million people. We are conducting eight lakh tests. Bihar accounts for about one fourth of the total number of tests conducted across the country", claimed Kumar. He underscored that the current spike was noticed in those parts of the country which were the worst affected when the coronavirus had caused a global pandemic. "In Bihar cases are very few but we are alert, nonetheless. In places like hospitals wearing of masks is being reinforced. We were also carrying out vaccination till our supply drie

With dust settling on communal disturbances in Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday rejected charges of administrative laxity and vented spleen against Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the BJP, vowing to expose those who had orchestrated the riots. The JD(U) leader also lambasted AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, calling him an agent of the BJP. He was replying to queries from journalists on the sidelines of a function organised on the occasion of birth anniversary of former deputy prime minister and dalit stalwart Babu Jagjeevan Ram. Kumar's remarks come a day after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed that the BJP was bringing in goons to create riots in her state. The Bihar CM taunted Shah over the much-publicised rioters will be hung upside down if BJP comes to power in Bihar remark at a rally in Nawada district on Sunday, and reminded him of riots in 2017 when our government had to arrest the son of a BJP leader". The allusion was to the riots that broke

The BJP on Monday slammed Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for communal violence in the state, saying he seems to have lost his will to govern and asked him to "stop dreaming about becoming prime minister and instead take care of the state". While former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad questioned Kumar's willingness to handle the situation, former Bihar deputy CM and MP Sushil Kumar Modi hit out at the state's ruling alliance leaders for blaming the BJP and right wing organisations for violence wondering as to why the government has then not then exposed such a conspiracy. "If it is a BJP conspiracy, then why did you not expose it? Lakhs of people who participated in Ram Navami processions across the state are not BJP members but belong to the Hindu society. They can be from any party. For the first time in his over 17 years tenure as CM, Nitish Kumar has been unable to control such a situation even after so many days," Modi said. Prasad said no incident was reported last year a

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday tore into the Nitish Kumar-led Mahagathbandhan government in Bihar for "failing to check" communal violence in Sasaram and Bihar Sharif towns and asserted that rioters will be hung upside down if the BJP forms the government in the state in 2025. Addressing a rally in Hisua in Nawada district, Shah, widely regarded as the BJP's principal strategist, asserted that the people of Bihar have decided to ensure the victory of party candidates in all the 40 Lok Sabha seats in the 2024 general elections. "People of the country have decided that Narendra Modi will become the prime minister for the third consecutive term. Once that happens, Nitish Kumar will go back on his promise of handing over the mantle to his deputy Tejashwi Yadav as his dreams of becoming the PM will be shattered," he said. Shah alleged that Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar have practiced politics of appeasement which has helped terrorism flourish, while Modi has scrapped Article 370

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar took an indirect dig at Union Home Minister Amit Shah ahead of his proposed visit to the state to attend a BJP function for the celebration of Emperor Asoka's birth anniversary. Kumar, who was addressing a function organised here by his JD(U) on the occasion of the jayanti' of the legendary Maurya emperor, also asked the people to be on guard against attempts by the saffron party, which he did not mention by name, to "exploit" the historical figure for "political gains". "There are people who are trying to foment tension in society for political gains. Beware of them. In a few days, someone from Delhi will come and try to mislead you in the name of Samrat Asoka," Kumar said Wednesday in an oblique reference to Shah's scheduled visit on April 2 to Sasaram. The CM also claimed that "these people played no role in the struggle for Independence. By invoking the name of Asoka, they will try to wean away (kabza karna chahte hain') some castes". "I have .

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday declined to speak on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from the Lok Sabha, saying he avoided doing so in matters involving court order. However, Kumar said his party, the JD(U), has commented on the issue. Talking to reporters here, Kumar reiterated the need for a united opposition saying he was waiting for the Congress to move ahead on the same even as he scoffed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's contention that the corrupt were joining hands. It is his (Modi's) wont to keep saying things. These people believe only in self-praise. They cannot speak well of others. We do our job but also appreciate the good work of others. I have always remembered what had been achieved during the rule of late Atal Bihari Vajpayee, said Kumar, who had served in the cabinet of the BJP patriarch. He also took a dig at Modi saying he should keep a record (while speaking on corruption), of the type of people he aligns with. Kumar also referr

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said that ED raids on the premises of former Union Railway minister Lalu Prasad and his associates was a result of him being a part of the Mahagathbandhan

"The move of Upendra Kushwaha was pre-planned. It was scripted by BJP. Those who abuse Nitish Kumar are getting higher positions," Umesh Kushwaha said

After the separation of the Janata Dal-United from the National Democratic Alliance in August 2022, the BJP targeted the weak links of the party to hurt the vote bank of Bihar CM Nitish Kumar

"As soon as I got to know though newspapers, I directed officials to look into the matter. They talked with the Tamil Nadu govt and reported that a team should be sent from here," Nitish Kumar said

RJD MLA Sudhakar Singh once again targetted Nitish Kumar by terming him the "biggest obstacle" in the path of Tejashwi Yadav taking over as Bihar Chief Minister

Bihar Chief Minsiter Nitish Kumar on Thursday expressed concern over the alleged attacks on labourers hailing from the state in far-off Tamil Nadu. Taking to Twitter, Kumar said he has instructed officials here to get in touch with their counterparts in Tamil Nadu and ensure security of labourers from Bihar, who are eking out a living in the southern state. "I have learnt from newspapers that labourers from Bihar who are employed in Tamil Nadu are being attacked. I have asked the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police of Bihar to speak to officials in Tamil Nadu and ensure safety and security of Bihari workers there," Kumar tweeted. Reports of physical assaults on labourers from Bihar and other Hindi-speaking regions, many of whom have uploaded videos of their travails on social media, had surfaced in the recent past.

The Nitish Kumar government in Bihar on Tuesday presented a Rs 2.61 lakh crore budget, asserting that the state's finances were in a good shape as evident from markers like the fiscal deficit being under the prescribed conditional limit. Tabling the budget before the state assembly, Finance Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary also flagged concerns like a drop in grants in aid received from the Centre, compared to the previous year, though Bihar's share in central taxes saw a rise. The total proposed budget expenditure of Rs 2,61,885.40 crore, for the year 2023-24, was Rs 24,194.21 crore more than the previous financial year. The state government also cited fiscal achievements like the fiscal deficit remaining at 3.78 per cent of the SGDP, which is under the prescribed conditional limit of 4.5 per cent. The budget pointed out that the grants in aid expected from the Centre for the current fiscal was estimated at Rs 53,377.92 crore, which was Rs 4,623.37 crore less" than what was received

He also added that the people are looking towards young leaders to take the state to new heights with a fresh vision

The people of Bihar are fed up with the Nitish Kumar government as "jungle raj" (lawlessness) prevails in the state, BJP leader Dinesh Sharma said on Sunday. He alleged that anti-social elements have been roaming freely in Bihar ever since Kumar joined hands with the RJD. "Nitish-Tejashwi-free Bihar has become the voice of people of the state," the former deputy chief minister of Uttar Pradesh told reporters here. Terming Nitish Kumar "the biggest opportunist", Sharma said the Bihar chief minister's statements against the BJP are just desperate acts. About the BSP and Samajwadi party's demand for a caste survey, he said these parties never made such a move while in power. "They raised the issue since they have so far not succeeded in dividing people based on caste and religion," the BJP leader alleged.

During the UPA government, the Centre had granted Rs 50,000 crore to Bihar while the Narendra Modi government has provided a grant of Rs 1.09 lakh crore since 2014

After forming a new political party in Bihar, Upendra Kushwaha on Wednesday said that he will start the Virasat Bachao Naman Yatra in the state from February 28

Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Legislative Council Samrat Chaudhary claimed that CM Nitish Kumar is fooling coalition partner RJD, and will not hand over his post to his deputy Tejashwi Yadav

Upendra Kushwaha and state Chief Minister Nitish Kumar have been at loggerheads ever since the latter announced that Tejashwi Yadav will lead the Mahagathbandhan in the 2025 Assembly election

RJD MLA Sudhaker Singh, whose insolence had cost him his cabinet berth, on Saturday shot off an angry letter to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar alleging that the veteran leader had "lost trust of the people". The legislator, on whom the party had recently slapped a show cause notice but stopped short of disciplinary action, shared his letter, running into three pages, on social media. The first-term MLA appeared to have taken to heart the CM's assertion the day before that his outbursts over farmers' woes in Bihar betrayed ignorance of the government's achievements in agriculture, a portfolio he had held for barely a couple of months. Singh, whose father Jagadanand Singh is the RJD's state president and a confidant of party supremo Lalu Prasad, signed off, tauntingly, as an "MLA with zero knowledge". In his lengthy note, Singh sought to rubbish the longest-serving CM's claims of agricultural growth, adding: "you seem to have developed a fondness for living in delusions. It may not affe