“I take my words back”: Nitish Kumar apologizes amid controversy over population control remark

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar recently issued an apology for comments he made in the state Assembly, which were considered “derogatory” and insensitive regarding the role of women’s education in population control. He expressed regret and clarified that his words were not intended to hurt anyone. These remarks had drawn strong criticism, including terms like “shameful” and “disgusting.”

In his initial comments, Nitish Kumar attempted to explain the decline in Bihar’s fertility rate, attributing it to women’s education, which some found to place an unfair burden on women for population control.

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To defend the Chief Minister, his deputy, Tejashwi Yadav, claimed that Nitish Kumar was actually referring to sex education in schools, trying to emphasize practical measures. This clarification did not fully mitigate the controversy.

The BJP, previously an ally of Nitish Kumar’s party, heavily criticized him, using strong language to question his mental stability and suitability as Chief Minister. Union Minister Nityanand Rai voiced his objections to Nitish Kumar’s statements and Tejashwi Yadav’s defense.

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AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi also criticized the Chief Minister, stressing that the Legislative Assembly is a sacred place and suggesting that a more appropriate way to convey the message would have been to highlight how women’s education enables them to make informed choices about when to have children.

In addition to this controversy, the Bihar Assembly also faced upheaval over the caste survey report and a proposal to increase reservations for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, and Extremely Backward Classes. The proposal aimed to raise the reservation quota from 50% to 65%, which would exceed the 50% cap imposed by the Supreme Court in 1992. The revisions were based on the caste report, which revealed significant percentages of the population belonging to EBCs and OBCs, along with alarming poverty rates in some demographics.