Nitish Kumar has lost his mental balance:Assam CM

KHANDWA: Amid the ongoing row over Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar's remarks over birth control and women's education, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma launched a stringent attack against his Bihar counterpart, saying that Nitish Kumar has "lost mental balance" and is a "threat to the state". He also demanded immediate removal of Nitish Kumar from his position for his derogatory remarks on population control.

"I think he (CM Nitish Kumar) has lost his mental balance. His party should remove him from the Chief Minister's post. A chief minister with a lost mental balance is a threat to the state," CM Sarma said in Mzchya Pradesh's Khandwa.

Earlier, on Wednesday, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) insisted that Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar should resign over his derogatory remarks on birth control in the state assembly, claiming that he has "lost his mental balance".

Chaotic scenes were witnessed in the Bihar Assembly during the ongoing Winter Session on Wednesday as opposition members rushed to raise slogans against CM Nitish Kumar over his objectionable remarks on birth control. As the BJP mounted a spate of scathing attacks, Kumar on Wednesday apologised for his remarks in the assembly. "I apologise, and I take back my words," he told reporters after BJP legislators did not allow him to enter the legislative assembly.

On Tuesday, speaking on the floor of the Assembly, the Bihar Chief Minister said women should be educated as it would enable them to avoid sexual intercourse resulting in pregnancy. Reacting to Bihar CM Nitish Kumar's derogatory remarks on birth control, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Sudhanshu Trivedi said on Wednesday that the statement made by the Bihar CM is "shameful, condemnable, and painful."

"He (Nitish Kumar) is a very senior leader, and his statement is shameful, condemnable, and painful. This shows the established low mentality of the leaders of the INDIA bloc for women," the BJP leader said.

Addressing the Winter Session of the Assembly during a debate on caste census on Tuesday, the CM made bizarre remarks while underscoring the need for girls' education to check population growth in the state. Kumar, in his address to the Assembly, claimed that the fertility rate of the state, which was earlier at 4.3 percent, has now dropped to 2.9 percent, per a report last year.

His remarks drew outrage from the BJP as well as the chairperson of the National Commission for Women (NCW), who demanded that he tender an unconditional apology. Defending Nitish Kumar, Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav said that it was wrong to misinterpret the Chief Minister's remarks as he was speaking about sex education.

"Let me tell you one thing. It is wrong if someone misinterprets it. The remarks of the CM were regarding sex education. People are hesitant whenever the topic of sex education is discussed. This is now taught in schools. Science and biology are taught in schools. Children learn it. He said what should be done practically to stop the increase in population. This should not be taken in a wrong manner. It should be taken as a sex education," Yadav said.