Bihar MP Pappu Yadav
Credit: PTI Photo
Patna: Bihar MP Pappu Yadav said he could "finish off within 24 hours" the network of Lawrence Bishnoi who is suspected to be behind the assassination of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddiqui.
The Purnea MP made the boastful statement in a post on X, on Sunday, when he called Gopalganj-born Siddiqui "a son of Bihar" and trained his guns at the NDA government in the western state.
"Has the nation become an army of eunuchs? A criminal sitting in jail gets people bumped off at will and all remain mute spectators," wrote Yadav, himself known for strong-arm tactics in politics.
He added, "Maha jungle raj prevails in Maharashtra. The proof is the murder of Baba Siddiqui, who enjoyed Y security cover and was known to be supportive of the government."
The MP, who redeemed himself politically in the recent Lok Sabha polls after remaining in the wilderness for a long, also said "if law permits, I can finish off within 24 hours the entire network run by this two-bit criminal called Lawrence Bishnoi".
Yadav had contested as an Independent after the Congress refused to field him as its candidate from Purnea, a seat which was claimed by senior ally RJD.
The RJD, which has been wary of Yadav's ability to make a dent into its "MY" combination, was predictably critical of the outbursts of the mercurial MP, who, incidentally had been convicted for the murder of a Left leader but got acquitted by the Supreme Court.
RJD spokesman Mrityunjay Tiwary said, "The assassination of Baba Siddiqui shows that law and order has collapsed under the double-engine government in Maharashtra. But if somebody says that he will settle things by taking law into his own hands, then in our eyes, he is a follower of the RSS' ideology which has always had a problem with Mahatma Gandhi's doctrine of non-violence."
BJP OBC Morcha national general secretary Nikhil Anand also slammed Yadav for using "languages that befits a roadside ruffian, unbecoming of a member of Parliament".
Anand also accused Yadav of "Muslim appeasement" and asked, "why is that Pappu Yadav is venting spleen against Lawrence Bishnoi who has come to limelight only recently but never spoke of finishing off Dawood Ibrahim, whose reign of terror dates back to 1990s?"