Bihar state chief and Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar on Wednesday lost his cool in the state legislative assembly, screaming at opposition lawmakers.
Footage of his meltdown quickly went viral on social media, showing the politician calling BJP lawmakers "drunkards."
"What happened? Keep quiet. Get them out of the House," the fuming Bihar state chief responded to high-decibel sloganeering by BJP lawmakers. "Sharabi ho gaye ho tum...(you have turned into drunkards)."
Kumar has been under pressure for some time over BJP criticism of his management in the state.
Bihar has been a dry state since 2016 after Nitish Kumar's government introduced a law to prohibit the sale, distribution, and consumption of alcohol.
17 people lost their lives in the Saran district of Bihar after they allegedly drank illicit liquor. Health officials assume the death count could surge because many who are still undergoing treatment in hospital remain in serious condition.
17 people lost their lives in the Saran district of Bihar after they allegedly drank illicit liquor. Health officials assume the death count could surge because many who are still undergoing treatment in hospital remain in serious condition.
While police are yet to find out the exact cause of the fatalities, they have dubbed the developments "suspicious."
"These look like suspicious deaths. I have also received information that some more are being treated at different places," senior police officer S. Kumar told reporters.
However, this isn't the first case of people dying after drinking spurious liquor.
In August, five people lost their lives in the same district after allegedly consuming toxic liquor.
Nitish Kumar's relations with the BJP hit rock bottom after he broke off ties with the country's federally governing party in the state and joined hands with their arch-rival, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) party.
Since then, he has been unapologetic in his opposition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party, even becoming the main figure in efforts to bring all anti-BJP political parties under a single umbrella to fight the 2024 national elections together.