RJD chief Lalu Prasad slammed BJP leader Giriraj Singh on Wednesday for vitiating the communal atmosphere in Bihar with his Hindu Swabhiman Yatra.
Claiming that there was no difference between “Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and Giriraj”, Lalu asserted that nobody would be able to engineer riots in the state as long as he was there.
Lalu told reporters: “Giriraj is a habitual offender. He has the habit of making provocative comments. He has no power to do anything. All Hindus and Muslims will live together.”
“How can he (Giriraj) initiate riots as long as we are here,” he asserted and hinted that Nitish indirectly supported the BJP leader’s offensive comments.
The 77-year-old RJD leader has been grappling with health issues. However, he has been unwavering in his opposition to the BJP. As the then chief minister of Bihar, Lalu had stopped BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani’s Rath Yatra and ordered his arrest at Samastipur in 1990.
Giriraj started his Hindu Swabhiman yatra from Bhagalpur on October 18 against Bangladeshi infiltrators and Rohingya Muslims. The yatra passed through Purnea and Araria districts and culminated at Kishanganj on Tuesday with a road show and a rally.
Giriraj demanded the implementation of National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the Seemanchal (northeastern region) of Bihar, appealed to the Hindus to keep “trishul” (tridents) at home and to stay united to save their religion. A riot almost broke out in Bhagalpur after the yatra had passed through.
Similarly, Araria BJP MP Pradeep Kumar Singh drew flak for saying that everybody will have to speak “Hindu-Hindu” if they wanted to live there.
Lalu’s younger son Tejashwi had also blamed the BJP and its leaders for trying to disturb the social harmony.
“Everybody has contributed to the country’s Independence and their fragrance is present in its soil. I assure everyone that I will stand till my last breath before the people who try to push Bihar into the fire of communalism, and will tear those apart who cast an evil eye on the Muslims,” Tejashwi had said.
