American singer
and actor Mary Millben, who is known for singing Bharat’s national anthem
during PM Narendra Modi’s visit to US earlier this year, has demanded Bihar
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s resignation for his derogatory comments on birth control.
The singer urged
the Bharatiya Janata Party to “empower a woman to lead in Bihar” in the next
elections.
Hitting out at Nitish
Kumar, Millben said, “Today, India faces a defining moment. Right in Bihar.
Where the value of women is being challenged. And I believe there is only one
answer to this challenge. After Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Ji’s comments, I
believe a courageous woman needs to step up and declare her candidacy to run
for Chief Minister of Bihar. If I were a citizen of India, I would move to
Bihar and run for Chief Minister.”
Referring to the
Hebrew Bible, she said, “Queen Esther was admonished by her cousin Mordecai to
boldly approach her husband, the King, to help save her Jewish people. It was
Mordecai, who challenged Esther to see her place as Queen, her place and time
in the kingdom, as a defining moment to save her Jewish people. Mordecai said
to Esther – who knows but that you Esther have come to the kingdom, made Queen,
for such a time as this?”
I believe the time
is now for Nitish Kumar to resign and for an Esther to arise in Bihar,” she
said in X post.
Earlier, Nitish
Kumar courted controversy when he sought to describe a matrimonial union in a “crass
manner” to explain the importance of women’s education for population control
during a discussion in the Bihar Assembly.
The BJP has
demanded his resignation over the remarks and urged the Speaker to expunge his
comments.
Millben, who was
earlier in the news in Bharat for singing the national anthem – Jana Gana Mana –
also referred to Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan and said one must
follow what the actor said in the movie, “Vote and bring change”.
After Millben
performed in front of PM Modi at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington DC,
she touched the Prime Minister’s feet, the video of which became viral.
Millben also came
out in PM Modi’s support in August when the Opposition sought to corner the Indian
Premiere over the violence in Manipur.
Reacting to the
Opposition’s attack on the BJP over the violence and sack Manipur CM N Biren
Singh back then, she had said, “To associate with a party that dishonours
cultural legacy, denies children the right to sing the anthem of its country,
and degrades one’s country abroad, this is not leadership. This is
unprincipled.”
NE Watch Desk
