Union Minister Giriraj Singh's Controversial Statement: Nitish Kumar’s Barb Over His ‘Beat Up Officials’ Remark

At a public event on March 6, Giriraj Singh, who is a BJP MP from Begusarai in Bihar, was on camera advising people of his constituency to "beat up with bamboo sticks" officials who appeared insensitive to their concerns. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, whose ties with ally BJP have lately been strained, responded to the comment with thinly-veiled sarcasm. CM Kumar elaborated, "Using words like 'pitai (beating)'. Is that appropriate? Ask him only”. Bihar opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav also called out the comment. The Nitish Kumar-BJP alliance retained power in the Bihar election in November but the Chief Minister's party finished third, with a much lower tally than the BJP this time. He has earlier publicly disagreed with pronouncements of BJP leaders in the past.