Rabri Devi alleged that Nitish Kumar "fell on the feet" of PM Modi in Lucknow (File)
Former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi on Saturday alleged that Nitish Kumar, who succeeded him in the seat of power, "fell on the feet" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Lucknow because of 'majboori' (compulsions) she could not fathom.
The RJD leader made the remark while talking to reporters in Patna outside the state legislature, which is in session.
Mr Kumar was in the Uttar Pradesh capital on Friday to attend the swearing-in of Yogi Adityanath.
A lot is being read into the "body language" of Mr Kumar at the glittering ceremony. His photographs, greeting the PM with folded hands and bending at his waist, have been lapped up by the opposition in Bihar.
They have sought to juxtapose the chief minister's current stance against his famous rivalry with Modi when the latter was the Gujarat Chief Minister, whose rise to national prominence had caused him to snap several years old ties with the BJP.
It has been the opposition's contention that Mr Kumar's "body language" was symbolic of his "capitulation" before the BJP which has now overshadowed his JD(U) in terms of numerical strength in the state legislative assembly.
"Kuchh majboori hogi..... Pradhan Mantri ka pair pakad liye" (there must have been some compulsion that made him fall at the PM's feet), said Rabri Devi, tongue-in cheek.
The JD(U) was predictably riled and the most vicious counter attack came from Kumar's outspoken political aide Upendra Kushwaha.
"It is called 'shishtachaar' (courtesy). Rabri Devi must not be knowing what it means, which is evident from the 'durgati' (plight) of her own daughter in law", said Kushwaha.
The allusion was to Aishwarya, the wife of Rabri Devi's elder son Tej Pratap Yadav, who had accused her in-laws of having driven her out of her their house following her estrangement from her husband.
Aishwarya's father Chandrika Roy, who was earlier with the RJD, joined the JD(U) after the ugly spat with the family of Lalu Prasad, husband of Rabri Devi who is the founding president of the Rashtriya Janata Dal.