NEW DELHI: The ruling allies in Bihar – the BJP and the JD(U) – are once again engaged in a bitter tussle.
Bihar BJP chief Sanjay Jaiswal has warned leaders of JD(U), the party of chief minister Nitish Kumar, to stop playing Twitter-Twitter with Prime Minister Narendra Modi or face consequences.
“To ensure that the NDA runs smoothly in Bihar, every alliance partner will have to follow the coalition dharma. It cannot be a one-sided affair any more,” Sanjay Jaiswal warned in a Facebook post.
Without taking any names, the Bihar BJP chief questioned why some JD(U) leaders were tagging him and the BJP central leadership and asking questions on Twitter.
“The first condition of this coalition dharma is to stop playing Twitter-Twitter with country’s Prime Minister. Prime Minister is the honour and pride of each and every BJP worker. If you play Twitter-Twitter and ask questions to the Prime Minister, 76 lakh workers of Bihar BJP know how to give answers. I hope all of us will keep this in mind in future,” the Bihar BJP chief warned.
“It is not just our responsibility to ensure that the Bihar government runs smoothly in a good atmosphere. This is also your responsibility. If there are any problems, we should sit and discuss,” he said.
The two parties have been engaged in a tussle over Padma Shri Award winner Daya Prakash Sinha, who has compared Samrat Ashoka with Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.
Sinha, a retired bureaucrat, had got the civilian honour last year and has been chosen for the Sahitya Akademi Award this year for a play based on the life of Ashoka who is said to have shunned violence after a victorious battle against Kalinga which filled him with remorse for the large-scale bloodshed.
In a recent interview, Sinha had expressed the view that Asoka was very much like Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, as both rose to power after fratricide and projected an image of piety to appear respectable.
His remarks have led to a political furore in the state.
JD(U) leaders Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh and Upendra Kushwaha have demanded that the BJP withdraw the Padma award given to Sinha.
Sanjay Jaiswal, who has lodged an FIR against Daya Prakash has countered the JD(U) and said “to ask the Prime Minister to take back an award which has been conferred by the President is sheer foolishness.”
Jaiswal in his FIR has alleged that Sinha has used the name of the BJP to defame it.
“Sinha, in his Wikipedia page, mentioned that he is a national convener of the BJP cultural wing and vice president of the Indian Council of Cultural Relations which is completely false. He has used the name of the BJP which is completely incorrect,” Jaiswal said.
“Not once in 74 years has the Padma award been taken back. The Bihar government should first act on my FIR and arrest Daya Prakash. He should be tried in a fast track court and given punishment. After that a delegation of Bihar government can petition the President to take back his award,” Sanjay Jaiswal wrote in his post.
Responding to Jaiswal, Upendra Kushwaha said that they will continue to protest till the award is taken back, whether the President does it or the Prime Minister.
Bihar BJP chief Sanjay Jaiswal has warned leaders of JD(U), the party of chief minister Nitish Kumar, to stop playing Twitter-Twitter with Prime Minister Narendra Modi or face consequences.
“To ensure that the NDA runs smoothly in Bihar, every alliance partner will have to follow the coalition dharma. It cannot be a one-sided affair any more,” Sanjay Jaiswal warned in a Facebook post.
Without taking any names, the Bihar BJP chief questioned why some JD(U) leaders were tagging him and the BJP central leadership and asking questions on Twitter.
“The first condition of this coalition dharma is to stop playing Twitter-Twitter with country’s Prime Minister. Prime Minister is the honour and pride of each and every BJP worker. If you play Twitter-Twitter and ask questions to the Prime Minister, 76 lakh workers of Bihar BJP know how to give answers. I hope all of us will keep this in mind in future,” the Bihar BJP chief warned.
“It is not just our responsibility to ensure that the Bihar government runs smoothly in a good atmosphere. This is also your responsibility. If there are any problems, we should sit and discuss,” he said.
The two parties have been engaged in a tussle over Padma Shri Award winner Daya Prakash Sinha, who has compared Samrat Ashoka with Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.
Sinha, a retired bureaucrat, had got the civilian honour last year and has been chosen for the Sahitya Akademi Award this year for a play based on the life of Ashoka who is said to have shunned violence after a victorious battle against Kalinga which filled him with remorse for the large-scale bloodshed.
In a recent interview, Sinha had expressed the view that Asoka was very much like Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, as both rose to power after fratricide and projected an image of piety to appear respectable.
His remarks have led to a political furore in the state.
JD(U) leaders Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh and Upendra Kushwaha have demanded that the BJP withdraw the Padma award given to Sinha.
Sanjay Jaiswal, who has lodged an FIR against Daya Prakash has countered the JD(U) and said “to ask the Prime Minister to take back an award which has been conferred by the President is sheer foolishness.”
Jaiswal in his FIR has alleged that Sinha has used the name of the BJP to defame it.
“Sinha, in his Wikipedia page, mentioned that he is a national convener of the BJP cultural wing and vice president of the Indian Council of Cultural Relations which is completely false. He has used the name of the BJP which is completely incorrect,” Jaiswal said.
“Not once in 74 years has the Padma award been taken back. The Bihar government should first act on my FIR and arrest Daya Prakash. He should be tried in a fast track court and given punishment. After that a delegation of Bihar government can petition the President to take back his award,” Sanjay Jaiswal wrote in his post.
Responding to Jaiswal, Upendra Kushwaha said that they will continue to protest till the award is taken back, whether the President does it or the Prime Minister.
Dear Sanjay Jaiswal @sanjayjaiswalMP ji,………will look into it..Our protest will continue till Daya Prakash Sinha… https://t.co/jqZL0MUGtD
— Upendra Kushwaha (@UpendraKushJDU) 1642421944000
This is not the first time that the two parties have openly opposed each other.
The leaders of these two parties are not leaving any opportunity to score political points over each other on issues like the liquor ban, caste based census and law & order situation.
(With inputs from agencies)
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