Janata Dal (U) president Rajiv Ranjan Singh “Lallan” on Tuesday said political parties must maintain “restraint” in their comments, asserting that the country belonged to everyone, be it Hindus, Muslims, Christians or any other community.
He stated this in response to a question on Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s recent “abba jaan” comments.
“Terms like ‘unity in diversity’ are used for our country. The country belongs to all. No remarks should me made that harm the country,” he observed.
Mr. Singh also took a swipe at JMM leader and Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren for his remarks allegedly aimed at Bhojpuri and Magahi-speaking people of the State. Everybody has a right to settle in whichever part of the country they like,” he asserted.
While addressing a programme in Kushinagar on Sunday, Mr. Adityanath alleged that people did not get rations before 2017 like they do now. “Because then, people who say ‘abba jaan’ used to digest the rations. The rations of Kushinagar used to go to Nepal and Bangladesh. Today, if anybody tries to swallow the rations meant for poor people, he will land in jail,” he had said.
‘Abba jaan’ is the Urdu term for father; the reference was to the Muslim community.
Rally in Jind
Mr. Singh, who was addressing a press conference, played down the decision of his party, the biggest BJP ally, to send its senior leader K.C. Tyagi to a rally being organised in Jind on September 25 by INLD chief Om Prakash Chautala, seen as part of an effort to form a non-BJP, non-Congress front.
“We are strongly part of the NDA [BJP-led alliance],” Mr. Singh remarked, dismissing talks about a third front. The JD(U) was to attend the rally as it was being organised to mark the birth anniversary of Devi Lal, a towering third front leader of his era. He also cited Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s old association with Mr. Chautala.
Mr. Singh announced the names of former MLA Khiru Mahto and Gulab Mahto as the party’s president and vice-president respectively of its Jharkhand unit. The JD(U) used to be a strong party in the State. The appointments were part of its effort to strengthen itself in different parts of the country. The party would strongly fight the coming Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh and Manipur. It would like to be a part of the BJP-led alliance and fight on its own if the tie-up did not happen, he added.
