‘Will give a strong blow to anyone who looks at Muslims with ill intent’: RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav sparks a row with contentious remarks

In the 7-minute long Facebook Live video, Yadav condemned the hateful language used by Singh during the Hindu Swabhiman Yatra in Araria, accusing him of attempting to provoke riots between Hindus and Muslims. He also slammed Nitish Kumar for providing security to individuals spreading hate, calling it a betrayal of Gandhi’s values.

On Wednesday, 23rd October, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav lashed out at former Union Minister Giriraj Singh’s Hindu Swabhiman Yatra and Araria Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Pradeep Kumar Singh over his statement. Yadav claimed that there has been an attempt to create divisions and riots between communities. He said, “The way Giriraj Singh is organising a Yatra and the absurd statement given by BJP’s Araria MP, there is an attempt to create a rift and riots between two communities.”

Sharing a video statement, he wrote on X, “Today, a BJP MP made an inflammatory statement to disrupt the atmosphere in Bihar, and on the very same day, Nitish Kumar Ji provided additional security to that MP. In this country’s soil lies the fragrance of everyone, and everyone has contributed to its freedom. I assure every individual that as long as I breathe, I will stand firm against anyone who tries to throw Bihar into the fire of communalism, and we will give a strong blow to anyone who looks at Muslims with ill intent.” (Hindi post on X by Yadav translated to English)

In the 7-minute long Facebook Live video, Yadav condemned the hateful language used by Singh during the Hindu Swabhiman Yatra in Araria, accusing him of attempting to provoke riots between Hindus and Muslims. He also slammed Nitish Kumar for providing security to individuals spreading hate, calling it a betrayal of Gandhi’s values. Yadav asserted that the Rashtriya Janata Dal has always fought against communal and feudal forces, vowing to continue this fight. He warned that if any communal violence occurs in Bihar, Nitish Kumar will be solely responsible. Emphasising unity, Yadav appealed to the people to focus on key issues such as education, healthcare, unemployment, and poverty, instead of communal hatred and called for building a peaceful and progressive Bihar. He added, “RJD has always been a party of social justice and secularism. We have always sacrificed whenever needed. We have always fought against communal and feudal forces and will keep doing so.”

But RJD leaders have often relied on mouthing off platitudes to defend their brazen minority appeasement aimed at rallying Muslim votaries behind the party. The effort to woo Muslims has intensified as RJD fears further losing stature in the INDI alliance, especially after the disastrous Lok Sabha elections, wherein Lalu Prasad Yadav’s party won only 5 seats, serving a body blow to the opposition alliance.

Since then, RJD has been courting different communities lest the political ground slips further, particularly in the wake of a new political party floated by election strategist Prashant Kishor, who has been challenging the party and its leaders in its stronghold and drawing huge crowds to his rallies.

Even so, this is not the first time that RJD has indulged in minority appeasement. Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Lalu Prasad, the former Chief Minister of Bihar and leader of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), sparked controversy by advocating for a “complete” reservation for Muslims. This stance triggered sharp criticism from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his former ally, the JD(U).

Addressing the media in Patna, Lalu Yadav accused the ruling BJP of aiming to abolish reservations by dismantling the Constitution. “Muslims should receive full reservation… They (BJP) aim to dismantle the Constitution and democratic fabric of our nation,” asserted the RJD leader, a lie that has been menacingly weaponised by the opposition to project the BJP was against the Constitution.