LS polls: PM Modi to campaign in Bihar, UP today
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address public meetings in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh on Monday.
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar finds the going tough with his key alliance partner, the BJP, raising the contentious issues which have the potential to damage his party vote bank. Days after the Haryana chief minister ML Khattar strongly spoke against offering namaj in the open saying “this practice won’t be tolerated”, the BJP has now sought similar action in Bihar.
“Offering namaj in the open by the Muslims is not good. It will create tension in society. We urge the chief minister to put a ban on such practice in Bihar too,” a BJP legislator Hari Bhushan Thakur said. He added every Friday they block the roads to offer namaj. “We have no objections over offering namaz but that should be done at home or inside the mosque,” Thakur said.
His demand was supported by BJP leader and Panchayati Raj minister Samrat Chaudhary who said none should be allowed to spread “anarchy” on the streets by capturing roads. “If anyone wants to offer prayers, places of worship are there, not the roads?” Chaudhary said adding the Haryana government had done the right thing by banning namaj prayers in the open.
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No comments have come from the JD-U which heads the four-party NDA in Bihar, the other three being the BJP, Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), and Vikashseel Insan Party (VIP). This is the second time in the past one fortnight that Kumar has been caught in a peculiar situation.
Earlier this month, the Bihar assembly Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha from the BJP had introduced a new practice in the House by asking the members to sing “Vande Mataram” which drew strong protests from Muslim members, all belonging to the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM). The AIMIM members refused to recite it saying recital of the national song was not the criteria for assessing one’s loyalty towards the country.
A series of recent developments have unnerved the ruling JD-U which has a significant support base among the Muslim community. However, the way the JD-U has kept silent over these issues has annoyed the minority class members.
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