Patna:‘Jihadis’ who opposed Prime Minister Narendra Modi were behind the violence and arson at the Agneepath protest in Bihar and they were feeling buoyed by the statements of top leaders of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U), a BJP leader. The MLA made the allegation on Monday. Bisfi MLA Harish Bhushan Thakur Bachhoul, who is rapidly gaining a reputation for his sharpness of speech, took a dig at the chief minister’s party, which, he said, had no connection with the public and was likely to disappear after Nitish Kumar’s death.
Bachhol was responding to questions about leaders such as JD(U) national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan and parliamentary board chief Upendra Kushwaha, who called the protest “spontaneous and the new system of recruitment in the defense services”. suggested to withdraw.
“Why there has not been any incident of violence that happened earlier in the last few days, surely the blame can be laid on the statements of big leaders, who stand for the kripa (grace) of Nitish Kumar? There were jihadi elements opposing Modi were involved in violence and felt that they had the support of these leaders.”
He also mocked the suggestion of JD(U) leaders that the BJP should reach out to the masses and clear the misconceptions about Agneepath so that the crisis could be mitigated. The more active we are among the people, the more we have been in the service of the people since 1951 and will be stronger in 2051. Where will JD(U) be once Nitish Kumar, may he live long, the BJP leader asked.
The BJP came into existence in the 1980s. Its previous incarnation, the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, which merged with the Janata Party after the Emergency, was founded in the 1950s.
Not seen as a heavyweight in Bihar BJP, which has so far depended on an alliance with Kumar for its survival, Bachhoul remains in the news for his provocative remarks.
During the budget session of the state assembly, he had sought the disqualification of AIMIM MLAs for refusing to chant Vande Mataram on the floor of the House.
Earlier, he had suggested changing the name of Bakhtiyarpur, the birthplace of the Chief Minister, to Nitish Nagar.
The suggestion was angered by the chief minister and reacted with disgust to the BJP leader’s argument that the city was named after Islamic invader Bakhtiyar Khilji.
Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), a junior NDA partner founded by Kumar’s loyalist and former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi, strongly opposed Bachhol’s latest statements.
For suggesting a jihadi angle to the anti-Agneepath protests, this man should be treated in an asylum in Agra. Let him renounce his moral grandeur along with the salary he gets as a legislator. He should also give an undertaking that once he loses his seat he will not accept the pension. HAM’s national spokesperson Danish Rizwan said then perhaps he would understand why the youth were on the streets.