Seeking to put an end to the controversy surrounding his remarks of not being a 'Bihari', Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Friday said not only he himself but all his siblings were 'Bihari' by birth.
"I have come to know that my remarks have kicked off a major controversy. I am a Bihari by birth. I was named Bihari by my father the day I was born," Vajpayee said in his characteristic style while addressing an election meeting in Patna.
"I was named so because my elder brothers were Prem Bihari, Sada Bihari and Awadh Bihari. After having so many children, he felt it was enough and decided to name me Atal Bihari," Vajpayee said amid thunderous applause.
The prime minister's earlier remarks that he was 'Atal' but not 'Bihari' had raised many eyebrows in the state with the ruling Rashtriya Janata Dal Chief Laloo Yadav attempting to draw political mileage out of it.