Markandey Katju ‘offers’ Kashmir & Bihar to Pakistan, faces flak

Former PCI chairman and retired Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju’s latest remark of offering Kashmir to Pakistan on condition that it should take Bihar too drew sharp criticism with chief minister Nitish Kumar ridiculing him for trying to become “Mai-Baap” (guardian) of the state.

Justice Katju’s post on Facebook clubbing Bihar with Jammu and Kashmir triggered sharp reaction with some leaders demanding that he should be tried under sedition law.

“We offer you Kashmir but you should take Bihar also,” Justice Katju had said in one of his Facebook post.

“I have just received authoritative information from the Government of Pakistan. They have point blank refused the offer of taking Kashmir along with Bihar, and they have profusely apologised for ever asking for Kashmir at all and have promised never to ask for it again. Evidently the idea of getting Bihar too has horrified them out of their wits,” he wrote.

Justice Katju further commented, “Once Firaq Gorakhpuri, my English teacher in Allahabad University, said to me ‘Hindustan ko khatra Pakistan se nahin hai, Bihar se hai’.”

Expressing his anger on the remark, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, while addressing an event in Patna, on Tuesday said, “It will be better if he stays within his limits and stop making such remarks against Bihar to grab attention”.

“He is not the Mai-Baap (guardian) of Bihar to make such an offer. He must know that Bihar has a glorious history. Bihar is the place where Buddha attained enlightenment and it is not simple for anyone to take away Bihar from India,” Mr Kumar said.

Offended by his remark, JD (U) leaders termed it a fit case of sedition and demanded strict action against him. Speaking on the issue, senior JD(U) leader and party spokesperson Rajiv Ranjan said, “He must be arrested immediately for making such comments”.

Meanwhile senior JD(U) leader Niraj Kumar lodged a written complaint with the police, requesting them to file an FIR against Justice Katju for his remark against Bihar.

Justice Katju even faced backlash on Twitter from political leaders, including deputy chief minister Tejaswi Yadav. “Bihar may lack resources, but that doesn’t mean anyone can humiliate it. Bihar has always shown the way to country in good and bad times,” Tejaswi tweeted.

Faced with a barrage of protests, Justice Katju sought to backtrack and wrote on Facebook “I was only joking about Bihar.”