Former Bihar deputy CM alleges RJD MLA insulted 'Vande Mataram'

|HT|

Former Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi on Friday alleged that an MLA from opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal insulted the national song 'Vande Mataram' by not standing up when it was being played during the closing ceremony of assembly session. Modi, who is now a Rajya Sabha MP from the state, invoked the switching of four All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) MLAs to the RJD.

“Two MLAs of Owaisi's party AIMIM had insulted the national song in the last session of the assembly. When 4 MLAs of the same party joined RJD, then it is unfortunate to see the impact of people coming from smaller parties on the bigger party,” the former deputy chief minister of Bihar said in a tweet. In a direct attack on Tejashwi Yadav-led RJD, he said: “It is a tradition to end the Bihar assembly session with the national song Vande Mataram, but a legislator of the main opposition RJD insulted it by not standing during the national song on Friday. The party must tell what actions it will take against the MLA. Does RJD justify insulting the national song?”

The four AIMIM MLAs who switched to the RJD are Syed Rukuuddin Ahmed from Baisi, Shahnawaj from Jokihat, Mohammed Anjar Nayami from Bahadurganj and Mohammed IzaharAshwi from Kochadhaman assembly constituencies. With this, RJD has now become the single largest party in Bihar with 80 assembly members, edging past BJP (who has 77 members).

“The RJD is a party of A to Z, which cares for all sections of the society. A to Z, of course, includes MY (Muslims and Yadavs),” RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said in a press conference on Thursday. “These MLAs did not want the BJP, which has 77 MLAs, to continue enjoying the status of the single largest party," he added.

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