"Father's State?": Tejashwi Yadav As MLA Asks Muslims To Stay Home On Holi

A Bihar MLA's statement asking Muslims not to step out on Holi has drawn a sharp retort from Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Yadav, who has asked if the state belongs to the MLA's father and dared Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to rebuke the MLA and make him apologise.

Elaborating on his remark, Haribhushan Thakur Bachol, MLA from Bisfi in Madhubani district, told the media that Muslims must stay at home on Holi to avoid a confrontation.

This time, Holi is on Friday (March 14) and Muslims hold community prayers on Fridays.

"Holi comes once a year. It is a festival of colours. Muslim friends get upset if someone puts colours on them. That's why I have said, if you have a large heart, then step out. Otherwise, stay at home so there is no confrontation. Jumma (Friday) comes 52 times a year. They talk about ganga-jamuna culture and brotherhood. Leave one jumma for Hindus then," he said.

Asked about the Opposition RJD's response to his remarks, the legislator said, "The Opposition wants conflict so that their vote bank grows. We don't do vote bank politics."

Responding to the MLA's remarks, RJD's Tejashwi Yadav said, "The BJP MLA has asked Muslim brothers not to step out. Is this father's state? Who is he? How can he make such a statement?"

Targeting Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, he added, "The Chief Minister is unconscious. When Dalit women talk about their rights and honour, he scolds them. Does he have the courage to scold him (MLA)? JDU is now coloured in the hue of BJP and Sangh Parivar. And the Chief Minister cares about nothing other than his chair."

"And what does this MLA know? This is Bihar. Five Hindus will protect each Muslim here. You want to engineer riots. But whether or not we are in power, as long as our party is here, we won't let their agenda succeed. Mr Chief Minister, if you have guts, get this MLA to apologise in the Assembly. But the Chief Minister won't be able to do it. The country is watching. During the Babri Masjid row, he called Lalu Yadav "courageous". You must have learnt something from him," he said.

Mr Yadav's barbs at Nitish Kumar come against the backdrop of heated exchanges between the two leaders months ahead of Assembly polls in Bihar.

During the debate on Governor Arif Mohammed Khan's address, Mr Kumar thundered at the RJD leader and said he made Lalu Yadav the Chief Minister. "Even the people of Lalu Yadav's caste (Yadav) had refused to make him CM, but I supported him. I made your father (Lalu Yadav) CM," Mr Kumar said.

Mr Kumar, a key face of Janata Dal politics in the 1990s, was Lalu Yadav's brother-in-arms before the two parted ways and Nitish Kumar charted his political journey, eventually becoming Chief Minister in 2000. Targeting Tejashwi Yadav, once his Deputy, Mr Kumar said he was a child who did not know anything. RJD and JDU have had an inconsistent relationship over the past decade, thanks to Mr Kumar's repeated flip-flops across the political aisle.

Hitting out at the former ally, Mr Yadav has said RJD's support made Mr Kumar Chief Minister twice and saved his party. "Yesterday, Nitish Kumar said in the Assembly that he made Lalu Yadav the Chief Minister. Forget about what Nitish Kumar says... But Nitish Kumar should remember that even before him, my father had already been elected as an MLA twice and once as an MP. Forget about Lalu Yadav, Lalu Ji has made many Prime Ministers. I made him (Nitish Kumar) CM twice and saved his party...," he said.