A bitter spat erupted between Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and leader of the Opposition in the state Legislative Assembly, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, on Tuesday during the motion of thanks on governor Arif Mohammed Khan's address of the joint session of the legislature.

The showdown occurred when Nitish was speaking on the motion of thanks and Tejashwi was interjecting. The chief minister lost his cool and asserted that it was he who elevated Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president Lalu Prasad (Tejashwi’s father) in politics.

“You are a child. What do you know? You are kid. You were not even born. At least ask the media persons about it. There was nothing before 2005 here. It was I who made (elevated) your father in politics, despite the people belonging to your caste asking me not to favour him,” an irritated Nitish said.

The chief minister pointed out that he stopped Lalu from doing away with the backward and extremely backward castes as separate entities and having just backward castes.

Asserting that nobody dared to venture out of their home in the evening when Lalu and later his wife Rabri Devi were the chief ministers from 1990 to 2005, Nitish said that he improved the law and order situation so much that today people were not afraid to go out even during the night.

"There were no roads. I was an MP and Union minister at that time and had to move on foot to reach anywhere. I will not pay attention if you keep speaking,” Nitish added while Tejashwi kept firing verbal bullets at him.

As the bitter exchange continued, Tejashwi referred to the case of MLC Sunil Kumar Singh and pointed out that no legislator had to lose his membership of the House for calling the chief minister "paltu ram" (one who switches sides). The Supreme Court recently ordered the restoration of his (Sunil’s) membership.

The chief minister retaliated by saying that they (the RJD) were removed twice from the government for indulging in wrongdoings.

"I will now always be with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). I am not going to go anywhere now," Nitish added.

He asserted that he not only removed the fear from the hearts of the people but also stopped communal clashes between the Hindus and the Muslims in the state.

An angry Nitish also asserted that the RJD and the Mahagathbandhan will not be able to win even a single seat in the Assembly polls that are expected to be held towards the end of this year.

Previously, while speaking during the motion of thanks on the governor’s address, Tejashwi had slammed the state government while lauding the achievements of the Lalu-Rabri regime.

“Today the situation is that the government is dilapidated, the system is useless, the chief minister is tired, and the common man is running from pillar to post (for his work). This is the reality of this government,” Tejashwi said.

Talking in the same vein, the RJD leader added that during the pre-2005 Bihar had a powerful government. “Its leader was powerful and used to fight Delhi to bring the rights of the state,” he said.

The RJD leader said that he did not want to form the government, but wanted to develop Bihar.

Earlier, Tejashwi and deputy chief ministers Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Sinha also had separate verbal duels.