PATNA, July 24 -- The state assembly on Wednesday witnessed sharp exchanges between leaders of ruling NDA and Opposition INDIA bloc, with chief minister Nitish Kumar himself entering into a heated exchange of words with leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav when the latter termed the ongoing SIR drive in the state as 'non transparent' and 'totally flawed'. As the tiff inside House worsened only after 15 minutes of business, Speaker Nand Kishore Yadav adjourned the proceedings tilll 2pm, taking exception to a purported objectionable statement made by RJD MLA Bhai Virendra. Incidentally, the House started on a quiet note after the Speaker allowed a discussion on the SIR as demanded by the Opposition. In his address, Tejashwi said that he was not opposed to the SIR but its timing was questionable and the process being followed had a lot of anomalies with possibility of deletion of a large number of voters from the electoral rolls. He also mentioned how migrant workers living outside the state were facing difficulties in fulfilling the enumeration forms to get their names included as voters. "The last SIR took place in 2003 but it went on for over a year. That was 22 years back. There have been so many elections, including the last 2024 polls in the last two decades. Now, the Election Commission is preparing a new electoral roll. What is this fear of fake voters? Does the EC mean to say fake voters have made Narendra Modi the PM and Nitish Kumar the CM? The EC has also not spoken of any foreign nationals in the voters' list in its affidavit before the Supreme Court. The SIR is not being done in a transparent way and the poor are facing immense difficulty in procuring documents," Yadav said. He also sought to know "what would be the fate of nearly 4.5 crore residents of Bihar registered as voters, and come during elections from places where they are eking out a living. The EC has threatened to strike off the names of people not found at their registered addresses". Intervening during Tejashwi's at one point, the CM slammed the 35-yr-old, stating that the Opposition leader should refrain from making unwarranted statements. "You should remember what all happened during your parents' rule in Bihar (referring to Lalu-Rabri rule of RJD from 1990 to 2005). You are a child. You do not know how people used to never venture out after sunset in Patna during the rule of your parents. We have worked for all sections and ushered in development in the state. There is no need to make a fuss about this exercise (SIR). Elections are near and you can all speak whatever you want. It is the people of the state who will decide which government should rule for another term," Kumar said. The CM also talked about women reservation given during his rule in government services and welfare schemes for minorities and other development initiatives. "I have been with the NDA for a long time. In between, I sided with you all for a brief time. But when I noticed, things were not going on properly, I switched back to the NDA," Kumar said. "You are a child. You know nothing of matters like these. Only three days are left of this last session of the House. Let it conduct legislative business. Whatever rubbish you want to speak, you may do it to your heart's content during elections", said the longest-serving CM of the state. Incidentally, the trouble escalated when Speaker Nand Kishore Yadav took exception to a purported objectionable remark made by RJD MLA Bhai Virendra soon after CM Kumar had made a rebuffing reply to Tejashwi. He told the leader of the Opposition, "I have allowed you to make a statement. I am letting others on your side also speak, but you must first make Bhai Virendra apologise". Both the BJP and JD(U) members started voicing protests over the RJD MLA's statement with dyCM Vijay Sinha and other ministers going on an offensive. There was chaos in the House. At one point, Tejashwi tried to mollify the Speaker, saying that his party member had not made any such objectionable statement, which evoked angry reactions from deputy CM Sinha and minister Jibesh Mishra. This apparently did not go well with the Speaker, who looked at the treasury benches and told the ministers and BJP members that 'conducting house was Speaker's job'. As the din continued, the Speaker adjourned the House till 2 pm, Bhai Virendra later told reporters he had not said anything objectionable and there was no question of tendering an apology. "There was disruption from the BJP and ruling side legislators when my leader Tejashwi was speaking. He was not allowed to speak. I could not have watched the entire thing silently. I did not say anything wrong," he said. On the other hand, deputy CM Sinha said Bhai Virendra 's statement which was 'objectionable' in nature only reflected how the RJD believes in muscle power and disruptive politics. "We will not allow the muscle flexing politics of RJD. The RJD member should apologise for his statement in the house," Sinha said. Earlier during the discussion on SIR in the House, the Opposition leader criticised the requirement of 11 documents for voter registration, questioning how the poor would manage to produce such paperwork. "I asked for only four things. The voter list was first published in February, and after the Lok Sabha elections, a revision could have been done. Instead, they are rushing everything now. They are demanding 11 documents, which poor people do not have. Where will they get so many documents in just 25 days?" Tejashwi asked. Tejashwi also highlighted the significant digital divide in the state, emphasising the need for practical considerations. Citing data from the Rajya Sabha, he noted, "Our party raised a question, and the Labour Ministry responded that 3 crore Biharis are registered as labourers living outside the state. Approximately 4.3 crore Biharis reside outside. They return to vote during elections. But now they might be chucked out of voter lists." "...There are reports that around 52 lakh people are likely be deleted from the rolls. Why has ECI not issued a statement or the Chief Election Commissioner done a presser to clarify ?" Yadav asked. To this, JD(U) MLC Neeraj Kumar said, "It is the upper castes who go out for work in big number as per caste based survey report. All efforts are being made to ensure names get included in SIR."...