NEW DELHI: Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav rebuked a BJP MLA‘s appeal to Muslims to “stay indoors” on Holi and said that Bihar was a state where “designs of RSS-BJP and Sangh Parivar have often been foiled.”
Demanding an FIR against Haribhushan Thakur Bachaul, Yadav said, “It is not his father’s rule (baap ka raj). There should be an FIR against him for trying to whip up communal tension.”
Also read: BJP lawmaker urges Muslims to stay indoors on Holi, sparks row
“But Bachaul should remember this is Bihar, where designs of RSS-BJP and Sangh Parivar have often been foiled. He thinks he can strike terror into our Muslim brethren. But ours is a land where every single Muslim would be protected by at least five to six Hindus”, he added.
He further called upon chief minister Nitish Kumar to take action against this MLA for flaring communal tensions in the state.
“I would also like chief minister Nitish Kumar to summon Bachaul and pull him up for his tirade against the minority community. Though that may be too much to expect from the Leader of the House who no longer seems to be in his senses,” he said.
Yadav assured safety of Muslims in the state and said, “This is Bihar! Here, for every Muslim’s support and protection, five Hindus stand together. Don’t mock the Constitution—know your limits and place. As long as there are people in Bihar who follow the ideology of RJD and Lalu Ji, we will not let any riots happen, whether it brings us to power or costs us power.”
Bachaul’s comments reiterated what UP cop’s recent remarks that Holi comes once a year and jumma (Friday), 52 times a year. “I want to appeal to Muslims there are 52 jummas (Fridays) in a year. The one this week coincides with Holi. So, they should let Hindus celebrate the festival and not take offence if colours are smeared on them. If they have such a problem, they should stay indoors. This is essential for maintaining communal harmony,” Thakur said.
“They have always had double standards. They are happy to make money by setting up stalls selling abir-gulaal (coloured powders), but if a few stains land on their clothes, they start fearing dozakh (hell),” he added.
Holi is on March 14, which coincides with jumma (Friday) during the ongoing holy month of Ramazan.
