Patna: The Nitish Kumar government has taken a decisive stand after the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) threatened not to vacate former chief minister Rabri Devi’s official residence. Deputy chief minister and home minister Samrat Chaudhary struck a sharp tone, asserting that government property “is not anyone’s inheritance”.
Speaking at a event on Thursday, Chaudhary said the RJD’s defiance was both unlawful and unacceptable.
“The public owns government residences,” he said. “It is not anyone’s inherited property. There is a Supreme Court order that former chief ministers cannot retain official bungalows.”
He added that the state had simply followed procedure by designating the 39 Harding Road residence for the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, which requires the Lalu–Rabri family to vacate 10 Circular Road, their home for the past 20 years.
‘Words of anarchy’
Chaudhary condemned the RJD’s aggressive posture after party state president Manganilal Mandal declared, “Do whatever you want, but we won’t vacate our camp.”
The deputy CM described the remarks as anarchic, alleging that RJD leaders were “prone to hooliganism”.
“Bihar is a state of law and order,” he said. “Everyone, including me, has shifted homes multiple times. I have changed houses six times in 28 years. When the law applies to all, why not to them?”
He also reiterated that neither he nor the government had any personal grievance against the Lalu–Rabri family:
“The High Court and Supreme Court have already said former CMs cannot keep government bungalows. Their son himself went to court.”
Political backlash and charges of vendetta
The RJD has accused Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of acting at the behest of the BJP, calling the reallocation of Rabri Devi’s residence a “political move” made soon after the formation of the new government.
Mandal warned that the party might approach the courts, insisting:
“Let the government do what it wants. We will not vacate our camp.”
The dispute has intensified political tensions in Patna, with BJP leaders even mocking the Lalu family over the impending relocation.
Why the house must be vacated
The Building Construction Department recently notified the Harding Road residence as the new official bungalow for the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, triggering the mandatory move.
The Rabri Devi residence at 10 Circular Road—occupied by the family for two decades—no longer fits the legal criteria for retention.
