Rabri Devi

Rabri Devi (born 1959) has served three terms as the Chief Minister, of Bihar, India, as a member of the Rashtriya Janata Dal political party. She is married to Indian politician and former Chief Minister of Bihar Lalu Prasad Yadav who is the present Railway Minister of India.

Rabri Devi was born in 1959 in the family of Sri Sib Prasad Chaudhary of Salarkalan, Line Bazar, Gopalganj. [http://sify.com/news/internet/fullstory.php?id=13664560 "Rabri Devi", Sify, February 7, 2005] ] She married Lalu Prasad Yadav in 1973 [http://sify.com/news/internet/fullstory.php?id=13664560 "Rabri Devi", Sify, February 7, 2005] ] at the age of 14. She has two sons and seven daughters. Rabri Devi's installation as the Chief Minister of Bihar was considered as one of the most unexpected and awkward decisions of the entire Indian Political history because she was a traditional housewife and had neither interest nor any earlier experience in politics prior to governorship of the state of Bihar. The move coped well with the needs of the government in power at the time, as Lalu Prasad Yadav had to quit as C.M. after the infamous Fodder scam was revealed, but he managed to be in total control of affairs by giving his wife the coveted post of the head of state government. It was alleged that he continued to act and administer as a "De-facto" C.M. with his wife being a ceremonial head. She became the first woman chief minister of Bihar on July 25, 1997 ; her first term ended on February 12, 1999, when the state was briefly put under president's rule. Her second term ran from March 9, 1999 to March 3, 2000. [http://www.the-south-asian.com/March2002/Rabri%20Devi.htm "Rabri Devi", The South Asian, March 2002] ] Her third (and longest) term began in on March 11, 2000, and ended in 2005 Fact|date=February 2007, when her party suffered great losses in state elections. Her Chief Ministerial tenure was reitrated by the opposition as the worst by any elected head of the state ever and which sunk Bihar at the lowest and brought shameful defamation of reputation.

The appointment of Rabri Devi as the Chief Minister of Bihar came under severe sarcastical criticism and stiff opposition, because she was nearly illiterate [http://www.rediff.com/news/2000/feb/22rabri.htm "'I am not subordinate to Lalooji'", Rediff, February 22, 2000] ] [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3514292.stm "Profile: Laloo Prasad Yadav", BBC] ] and had little experience or interest in politics. [http://www.rediff.com/news/2000/feb/23rabri.htm "'My name will be there on the pages of history'", Rediff, February 23, 2000] ]

It has been claimed that she can't understand the official documents that are read to her, and that the administration of Bihar was actually carried out by her husband Lalu Prasad Yadav, even during the periods when he was in jail, having been convicted and sentenced on corruption charges; she and her husband dispute these allegations.

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