A couple of days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the infamous “mujra” remark about the opposition INDIA bloc in Bihar during the Lok Sabha election campaign, former Bihar chief minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Rabri Devi on Monday hit back in the same coin.
She didn’t hesitate to ridicule PM Modi when journalists drew her attention to the remark. She said, as quoted by news agency PTI, “And what does Modi do? Play the tabla?”
Rabri Devi, RJD’s founding president and Lalu Prasad Yadav’s wife, stated that facing defeat in the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) had “gone crazy and taken to blabbering”.
On being asked to respond to a comment by PM Modi, who alleged that the INDIA bloc was receiving support from ‘jihadis’ sponsored by Pakistan, she said, “If it is indeed so, what are the intelligence agencies doing? And before indulging in the dog whistle over Pakistan, they should remember one of their tallest leaders Lal Krishna Advani, who went on to become the deputy prime minister, was born in that country.”
What Asaduddin Owaisi said?
Slamming the PM for making such comments, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi said the PM was doing a disco dance with China when the latter’s troops reportedly captured around 2,000 square kilometres of the Indian territory.
He took to X and wrote, “@narendramodi Ji, you talked about Mujra, so Asaduddin Owaisi wants to ask you that for the last 3 years, China has occupied 2 thousand square kilometers of Indian land, Modi ji, you are not removing China, so were you doing Disco Dancing with China?”
“Is this the type of language the prime minister should use? Does Modi think we do not have mouth to speak? (humaare munh mein zabaan nahin hai kya),” Owaisi said.
What PM Modi had said
Addressing multiple poll rallies in Bihar, PM Modi attacked the INDIA bloc over the reservation issue and accused it of doing ‘mujra’ for the Muslim vote bank.
“I am giving the guarantee to Bihar SC, ST, OBC communities, till Modi is alive, I will not let them snatch away their rights. For Modi, the Constitution is supreme, for Modi, Babasaheb Ambedkar’s sentiments are supreme… if the INDI alliance wants to accept the servitude of their vote bank, they are free to do so…if they want to perform mujra (dance), they are free to do… I will still stand with the SC, ST, and OBC reservations staunchly. Jb tak jaan hai ladta rahunga,” he said.
ALSO READ: ‘May Narendra Modi become Chief Minister again’: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar’s big gaffe at election rally
Following his comments, he was criticised by several opposition leaders, including Congress’ Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, National Conference’s Farooq Abdullah, and the Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Tejashwi Yadav.
With agency inputs.
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Published: 27 May 2024, 10:10 PM IST