Union minister Giriraj Singh Friday called the victory of AIMIM candidate in the Kishanganj Assembly bypoll in Bihar as “dangerous”, saying that the Asaduddin Owaisi-led party “adheres” to the ideology of Pakistan founder Mohd Ali Jinnah.
Taking to Twitter, the BJP leader said AIMIM candidate Qamrul Hoda’s win in Kishanganj could imperil social harmony in Bihar. “In the Bihar by-elections, the most dangerous outcome is the result of Kishanganj. Owaisi’s party AIMIM adheres to Jinnah’s ideology. They hate (national song) Vande Mataram. Bihar’s social harmony faces a threat from them. The people of Bihar must think about their future,” Singh tweeted.
बिहार के उपचुनाव में सबसे ख़तरनाक परिणाम किशनगंज से उभर के आया है ..ओवैसी की पार्टी AIMIM जिन्ना की सोच वाले है ,यें वंदे मातरम से नफरत करते है ,इनसे बिहार की सामाजिक समरसता को खतरा हैं।
बिहार वासियों को अपने भविष्य के बारे में सोचना चाहिए।— Shandilya Giriraj Singh (@girirajsinghbjp) October 25, 2019
In the results announced for the bypolls to five Assembly seats on Thursday, Hoda defeated BJP’s Sweety Singh by over 10,000 votes to win the Kishanganj seat. The bye-election to the seat was necessitated after sitting Congress MLA Mohd Javed got elected to the Lok Sabha.
This was the inaugural victory for AIMIM in the Bihar Assembly, where it had contested unsuccessfully in this year’s Lok Sabha elections and the previous Assembly elections.
Singh’s comments, however, did not go down well with the BJP’s state ally JD(U). “We would like to know what Mr Singh has done to foster harmony in Bihar. If he is so concerned about the state, why doesn’t he resign from the post he holds in Delhi and dedicates himself full-time to improving the situation in Bihar,” JD(U) national general secretary and state minister Shyam Rajak was quoted as saying by PTI.
Congress legislature Prem Chandra Mishra attacked the Union minister for his statement and accused the BJP of having a “tacit understanding” with AIMIM.
“Giriraj Singh is trying to fool the people. The BJP and the AIMIM have a tacit understanding. Both thrive on communal polarization and need each other to sustain themselves,” Mishra said.