Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, extreme left, having lunch at a villager's home in Bettiah, Bihar (PTI photo)
Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi's controversial remark that "upper caste people are foreigners" has evoked sharp criticism from the opposition as well as from his own party, the JD(U).
Mr Manjhi, who has made an assortment of controversial public statements with alarming regularity since he took over as chief minister in May, was speaking at a function in Bettiah when he delivered his new controversy.
"The upper caste people are foreigners and descendants of the Aryan race...they have come here from foreign countries. Only tribals and Dalits are indigenous people," said Mr Manjhi, who belongs to the community of Maha-dalits.
The opposition BJP, taking strong objection to the remarks, accused Mr Manjhi of "stoking caste tension" in the state.
The BJP's Sushil Modi has alleged that Mr Manjhi's statement was not the first instance when he had tried "to divide the people on social grounds."
Mr Manjhi's comments have attracted condemnation from his own party as well, which has reportedly distanced itself from the Chief Minister's views.
JD(U) leader Sanjay Jha, a confidante of former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, dubbed Mr Manjhi's remarks as 'highly objectionable' and 'uncalled for'.