Giriraj Singh hits out at Muslims, again

Patna: Union minister Giriraj Singh on Friday stoked a fresh controversy with his statement that “the country is paying the price for not sending all Muslims to Pakistan and bringing Hindus at the time of independence.”

He gave the statement while leading a campaign in support of CAA, NPR and NRC in Bihar’s Purnea which has a sizeable Muslim population.

“Our forefathers made a mistake by not sending our Muslim brothers to Pakistan and bringing Hindus at the time of Independence. The whole country is paying the price today for the mistake they committed,” Union minister Giriraj Singh said.

With Assembly elections in the state slated to be held in November, political temperature has been high since the Citizenship Amendment Act came into force. The state has been witnessing massive anti-CAA protests in several districts including Patna, Begusarai and Gaya.

While CPI leader and former JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar has been leading anti-CAA campaign through his statewide ‘Jan Gan Man Yatra,’ BJP’s firebrand leader Giriraj Singh is trying to reach out to the masses in support of the CAA.

Targeting the Opposition RJD-Congress combine during the occasion, he said that “all these political forces including the tukde tukde gang want to convert India into Pakistan.”

Sources said that BJP allies in Bihar have been miffed over some of Giriraj Singh’s remarks including the one in which he was heard saying that “Deoband is Gangotri of terrorism.”

The JD(U) insiders in Patna told this newspaper that the party has already asked the BJP leadership to take cognizance of his remark which is making NDA partners uncomfortable in Bihar.

LJP Chief Chirag Paswan, who launched a statewide “Bihar First — Bihari First” tour on Friday, also expressed strong disapproval on Singh’s statement and said that NDA in the Delhi polls suffered due to “divisive” remarks made by BJP leaders.