"What's The Problem?" Nitish Kumar's Party Leader Defends His Remarks

Dialling down the controversy triggered after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's remarks on the importance of women's education to control the population, JD(U) National President Rajiv Ranjan (Lalan) Singh on Wednesday said that the comments of his party's supremo were not objectionable.

The Janata Dal (United) president questioned what is the problem with the remarks of Nitish Kumar.

"What objectionable statement has he given? Everyone knows that one marries off their children to carry forward their lineage. So the chief minister had also said the same, What is the problem with this? Only those who do not get anything, look for such controversies," Mr Singh said.

Speaking on the floor of the Assembly, Nitish Kumar on Tuesday in a rustic style said women should be educated as it would enable them to avoid sexual intercourse from resulting in pregnancy.

The Bihar Chief Minister's remarks drew outrage from the BJP as well as the National Commission for Women (NCW), who demanded that he tender an unconditional apology.

In a scathing riposte to Bihar Chief Minister, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla today said his statement was "despicable, disgusting, atrocious, obnoxious and women virodhi".

"The comments made by Nitish Kumar were despicable, disgusting, atrocious, obnoxious and women 'virodhi'. It only shows the impact of the influence of RJD...If they think like this and speak like this in the assembly, imagine what the plight of the women in Bihar...Tejaswhi Yadav has justified the statement and said it is sex education. It only shows the level this alliance is following," Shehzad Poonawalla said in a self-made video today.

Union Minister of State Nityanand Rai said that the Bihar Chief Minister has lost his "mental stability."

"It's objectionable; Nitish Kumar has lost his mental stability the way he spoke about women. Tejashwi Yadav's statement in its support is also objectionable. Nitish Kumar is no longer worthy of holding the position of CM. You have destroyed the culture of this country. He should apologise and detach himself from politics," Rai said.

However, today the Bihar Chief Minister apologised for his remarks, which created a political firestorm, saying that if anyone got hurt, he would take his words back.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)