Patna. Recently, the traffic inspector not only misbehaved with a doctor from NMCH of Patna near JP Setu, but even raised his hand. Later, suspension action was also taken against the inspector, but the name was related to JP Setu, so once again the matter regarding JP Setu came to mind when Lalu Yadav and Nitish Kumar had come face to face regarding this. The incident is of the year 1999. Experts say that Lalu Yadav’s communication style has made him a favorite of the public, while Nitish’s calm mind and restraint have given him a credible identity among the people. Confirming this fact, there is a very famous incident of 26 years ago which is also viral on social media these days.
From survey to ‘foundation stone laying’!
The atmosphere in the Lok Sabha was heated on 15 April 1999. The trust vote debate was going on on Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s NDA government. DMK and AIADMK had withdrawn support and the government was in trouble. Meanwhile, opposition leader Lalu Prasad Yadav attacked Railway Minister Nitish Kumar. The issue was the proposed railway bridge over the Ganga river in Sonpur, Bihar. Lalu Prasad Yadav started the debate in a very sharp and sarcastic manner. He claimed that the event he had received information about in Sonpur was only the laying of the foundation stone for the survey of the bridge. But they later found out that the board was changed overnight and it was declared ‘Foundation of the bridge by the Prime Minister’.
‘False foundation stone laying’ and accountability
Lalu Yadav said in his well-known style, the people of Sonpur turned out to be very clever… He said that this is a fraud. According to him, the local public was made to believe that the construction of the bridge was starting, whereas the truth was limited to survey only. Lalu Yadav alleged that this change was an attempt to take advantage of the election environment and confuse the public. Lalu Yadav lodged a strong objection in the House calling it ‘fraud’. The public was cheated by calling Prime Minister Vajpayee. There was laughter in the house because Lalu’s rural style and sarcasm made everyone laugh.
Trust vote and politics of Bihar
Former Chief Minister of Bihar Lalu Yadav was the President of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) at that time and Nitish Kumar was the Railway Minister in the NDA government. In the debate on the trust vote, Lalu accused the government of betraying Bihar and targeted Railway Minister Nitish Kumar and said that a big program was shown by combining the Prime Minister and the survey, due to which government money was also misused. Lalu Yadav’s taunt was – Prime Minister is Prime Minister, Minister is Minister! What he clearly meant was that the entire program was changed by using the Prime Minister’s name for electoral gains. Lalu Yadav said that the board was changed and instead of ‘survey’, ‘bridge’ was written, due to which government money was wasted and the public was cheated. Lalu Yadav demanded that why should the money spent not be taken out of the pockets of the responsible people?
‘Dhokha’ and ‘A Thousand Foundation Stones’
Lalu Yadav, in his own style, also said that while being the Chief Minister of Bihar, he laid ‘a thousand foundation stones’, but never laid ‘false foundation stones’. There was laughter in the House at this comment. Lalu Yadav’s speaking in typical village Bihari accent, his chosen unique words like “peaceful cooperation” and “laying such a foundation stone for false work” made the atmosphere fun. After this Nitish Kumar also replied. Nitish Kumar responded calmly to Lalu Yadav’s taunts, sarcasm, sarcasm and jokes. He rejected the allegations and said that it was only the foundation stone of the survey, not of the bridge.
‘You are speaking wrong’
Nitish Kumar said that Lalu is giving wrong information and it was clearly written in the papers that the program was just the inauguration of the survey. Nitish repeatedly said – You are saying wrong… absolutely wrong. Terming Lalu’s allegations as unnecessary, he suggested that this dispute should be kept aside and the project work could be completed without any delay. This bickering continued in the House in a humorous manner, which also reflected the old rivalry between the two leaders. Lalu Yadav retaliated on this and the debate lasted for 10-15 minutes. But its impact was long lasting!
This classic moment is funny
However, this video is still viral on YouTube and social media as ‘funny speech’. In fact, such humor is rare amidst political seriousness. It has now been 26 years since the Lalu-Nitish dialogue and neither their friendship nor their enmity continues – sometimes alliance and sometimes breakup. This debate of 1999 is not just a political dispute, but an interesting chapter in the history of the Indian Parliament. Time passed, governments changed, relationships changed, but this debate became a chapter in Indian parliamentary history, which people still remember with a smile.
