Rabri Devi moves out of RJD's longtime Patna power centre; vacates govt bungalow
Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi on Thursday moved out of the government bungalow that had been her home and the RJD's camp office for nearly
Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi on Thursday moved out of the government bungalow that had been her home and the RJD's camp office for nearly two decades, shifting to her private house. The move came under pressure from the Samrat Choudhary administration, which has allotted the bungalow to party leader and minister Nand Kishor Ram. It is also being seen as a sign of reduced clout of the opposition party's first family, which had been on good terms with the ruling dispensation when it was led by JD(U) president Nitish Kumar. Read Full Story Rabri Devi, wife of Lalu Prasad Yadav, had been allotted 10, Circular Road, located opposite the chief minister's residence and close to the Governor's House, by an earlier Nitish Kumar government soon after she lost power in the 2005 Assembly polls.
She has now shifted to her house in Kautilya Nagar, about 2 km away. She was first asked to vacate in November last year, when the Nitish Kumar government ordered that 10, Circular Road would be "designated as the deputy CM's residence". In her capacity as leader of the opposition in the state legislative council, she was then allotted another bungalow. Rabri Devi refused to move to 39, Hardinge Road, which is smaller than 10, Circular Road and is also seen as "unlucky", with the political fortunes of previous occupants said to have fallen after they stayed there. Last month, after the state Building Construction Department ordered her to shift to 38, Hardinge Road and vacate 10, Circular Road by June 29, she reacted angrily and challenged Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, who had once served in her cabinet, to evict her by force.
She later relented after the standoff brought negative publicity for the RJD, with NDA leaders accusing the party of wanting "separate houses for all members of the family". Her younger son Tejashwi Yadav, the RJD's working president, lives at 2, Polo Road, a ministerial bungalow allotted to him as leader of the opposition in the state Assembly. Her elder son Tej Pratap Yadav, who is estranged from the family and has been expelled from it, also lives in a government bungalow allotted after he petitioned for a place from where he could run his fledgling Janshakti Janata Dal. Rabri Devi's shift ends a nearly 20-year stay at 10, Circular Road, which had served as both her residence and the RJD's camp office.
Ends
The BriefWire