CPI (ML) L MP alleges he was shoved around by Nitish's security personnel

Patna, Sep 5 (PTI) CPI (ML) Liberation MP Sudama Prasad on Thursday alleged that he was shoved around by security personnel accompanying Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who was on a tour of Arrah, his Lok Sabha constituency.

Prasad, who had wrested the seat from BJP heavyweight and former Union Minister R K Singh, also asserted that the shabby treatment was "an insult to 5.30 lakh people who had voted for me in the general elections".

"I do not make a big deal of my prestige or humiliation. But, certainly, the people felt insulted. You can imagine the treatment received by common citizens when even elected representatives were being shoved around," the Left party MP told reporters later.

Notably, Kumar was in Arrah, the town, where Bhojpur district is headquartered, to launch projects worth nearly Rs 100 crore and inspect an under-construction government medical college.

Officials were tight-lipped over the allegations made by the MP though the main opposition party RJD, an alliance partner of the CPI (ML) L, shared the news on X claiming the ageing CM had grown "benumbed" and was oblivious to what was happening around him.

Prasad, who pointed out that his name figured among the invitees, said he stood carrying a bouquet which he tried to present the CM with "but his commandos couldn't care less".

He claimed that the brusque behaviour of the entourage had embarrassed Deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha and state health minister Mangal Pandey, both of whom tried to humour him later by "nodding at me and greeting me with Pranam".

Prasad pointed out that many locals had turned up at the function with the hope of drawing the chief minister's attention to the plight of the district, "a large part of which is reeling under floods".

"Of course, the chief minister has too many engagements and is short on time. But then he should not have bothered to come here, all the way from Patna. He could have done all that he did here, virtually, from his residence," Prasad said with a hint of sarcasm.

Meanwhile, when reporters sought the response of the state assembly's leader of the opposition, Tejashwi Yadav, he said, "I strongly deplore the incident that smacks of bureaucracy's lack of respect for elected representatives." The former Deputy CM claimed, "So high-handed has the bureaucracy become in Bihar that often the chief minister and his cabinet colleagues are not allowed to give speeches at functions. We wonder why Nitish Kumar is putting up with all this." PTI NAC SBN SBN