‘This Is Not a Monarchy’: Samrat Choudhary Targets Rabri Devi Over Bungalow Row

Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary took a veiled swipe on former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi over her refusal to vacate her 10, Circular Road government bungalow. The bungalow has been reassigned to dairy and fisheries minister Nand Kishor Ram.

Rabri, along with her husband Lalu Yadav, has been living at the 10, Circular Road bungalow for the last 21 years. She has been allotted a residence at 39 Hardinge road.

The senior leader had been on vacation while the notice was issued and has since returned to Patna and made it clear that she has no intention to leave the residence.

"Yes, I can see that Samrat Choudhary, who has become the chief minister only recently, is quite excited. Let him get me evicted by force. I am not going to vacate the premises," said Devi, who is the Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Legislative Council.

Choudhary’s Attack

"It is not a monarchy... The mother wants one house, and the son desires another," the new Bihar Chief Minister said.

While speaking at Sahyog Camp in Sheikhpura, recently launched by the state government to ensure prompt resolution of people's grievances concerning different departments, Choudhary did not name either the opposition party or any of its leaders.

Rabri Devi’s son, Tejashwi Yadav, who is the leader of the opposition in the state assembly, lives at 1, Polo Road.

Choudhary, who has held several posts in the Bihar government including being deputy chief minister for two years, said, "I have never lived in a government bungalow for the last several years. I have been living in my private house."

The CM claimed he agreed to start working from 1, Anney Marg, the official residence of the chief minister which his government has renamed as Lok Sevak Bhavan, only upon the insistence of his predecessor Nitish Kumar who gave up the top post to enter Rajya Sabha.

Taking another dig at the opposition in Bihar, Choudhary said that some people think of government bungalows as a ‘Bapauti’ (inheritance).

Lalu-Rabri Family Reacts

Janshakti Janta Dal founder Tej Pratap Yadav reacted sharply over the 15-day ultimatum issued to Devi to vacate her 10, Circular Road bungalow, demanding that former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar vacate his government residence first.

Speaking to ANI on the eviction notice, "The residence of former CM Nitish Kumar should be vacated first. When he does, she will also vacate," Yadav said.

Another member of Bihar’s top political family, Rohini Acharya, who unsuccessfully contested the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections from Saran, slammed the NDA government in Bihar for indulging in vendetta politics.

“The ‘Tughlaqi Farman’ to evict Rabri Devi ji from her residence and send police to the house is not democracy; it is a sign of the arrogance of power and unjust bullying. The NDA government in the state has miserably failed on the fronts of unemployment, inflation, corruption, and rising crime, but it is fully active in targeting Opposition leaders. What model of governance is this? Undoubtedly, it is the ‘vendetta model’ of governance,” Acharya wrote.