"Jihadis" opposed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi were behind the violence and arson that took place in Bihar during protests against Agnipath and they felt emboldened by utterances of “big leaders” of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U), a BJP MLA alleged on Monday.
Bisfi MLA Harishbhushan Thakur Bachhaul, who is fast gaining a reputation for acerbity of speech, made the statement sneering at the chief minister's party, which, he said, had “no connection with the masses” and was likely to “vanish after the demise of Nitish Kumar”.
Bachhaul was reacting to queries about JD(U) leaders like its national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan and parliamentary board chief Upendra Kushwaha who have termed the protests as "spontaneous” and suggested a withdrawal of the new system of recruitment in defence services.
“Why have there been no incidents in the past couple of days? Violence that took place earlier can certainly be blamed on the utterances of the big leaders who owe their standing to the benediction (kripa) of Nitish Kumar. Jihadi elements opposed to Modi were involved in violence and they felt they had the backing of these leaders”, alleged the BJP leader.
He also jeered at the suggestion of the JD(U) leaders that BJP should reach out to the public and allay misgivings about Agnipath to defuse the crisis over it. “Are they more active among the people than we? We have been in public service since 1951 and will be going strong in 2051. Where will be JD(U) once Nitish Kumar, may he live long, passes away?”, asked the BJP leader.
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Notably, the BJP came into being in the 1980s. Its previous avatar Bharatiya Jana Sangh, which merged with the Janata Party after Emergency, was founded in the 1950s. Not yet seen as a heavyweight in Bihar, BJP, which has so far been dependent on its alliance with Kumar for survival.
Bachhaul remains in the news for his provocative remarks. During the Budget Session of the state Assembly he had demanded disqualification of MLAs of AIMIM for their refusal to chant Vande Mataram on the floor of the House. Earlier, he had suggested renaming of Bakhtiyarpur, the chief minister's place of birth, as “Nitish Nagar”. The CM had frowned upon the suggestion and reacted with disgust to the BJP leader's contention that the town was named after “Islamic invader” Bakhtiyar Khilji.
Junior NDA partner Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), founded by Kumar loyalist and ex-CM Jitan Ram Manjhi, took strong exception to Bachhaul's latest utterances. “This man should undergo treatment at the lunatic asylum in Agra for suggesting a jihadi angle in the anti-Agnipath protests. Let him give up his moral grandstanding along with the salary he draws as an MLA. He should also give an undertaking that once he loses his seat, he will not accept pension. Then, perhaps, he will understand why the youngsters are on the streets,” HAM national spokesman Danish Rizwan said.