New Delhi, Sep 29 — With BJP President Nitin Nabin accusing the Opposition of misleading the public over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha on Tuesday said the Opposition had not raised the issue and that the Indian daily had investigated it and presented its findings with evidence.
This comes after Nabin on Saturday accused the Opposition of deliberately misleading the public over the SIR of electoral rolls and targeting constitutional institutions.
Speaking to IANS, Jha said, “The Opposition did not raise the question. The Indian Express investigated it. It presented it with evidence. What should we do after that? I mean, if you want to make allegations against the Opposition as well, then make allegations with evidence. This is not appropriate.”
“If he is making allegations against the Opposition, then he should do so with evidence,” he said.
Reacting to the Ujjain Shahi Masjid dispute, Jha said: “I say it directly, any such methodology, if it is from the perspective of dog-whistle politics, is not appropriate. What are you doing? You are doing othering; you are doing demonisation.”
“I don't understand why this didn't reach (RSS chief) Mohan Bhagwat. He gave such a good speech in New York. Did he leave it on the flight while coming back to India or at the immigration desk?” he said.
Jha also reacted to Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav’s absence from the INDIA bloc meeting, saying that a representative of the party was attending the meeting on his behalf.
"He is not going there, but a representative is going there on his behalf. So, this is for headline management and for a few media channels. But, on the ground there is nothing like any rift," he said.
Reacting to Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s remarks on deities, Jha said that different forms of deities have traditionally been given importance in different parts of the country.
“Without commenting on his wealth classification, if I look at it, the area I come from, in our area, Shiva and Goddess Kali are given priority. Tara is given priority. Different forms of Shakti are given priority. This has been the diversity of Hinduism, that every area, according to its own circumstances, has conceived of its deity,” he said.
“If you go further towards Bengal and Assam, you will find that the priority given to the Goddess increases further. If someone approaches this reality in a manner of hegemony, saying that these should be worshipped first and these are the most prominent, then there is a need to understand that intent,” he added.
Reddy’s recent remarks have sparked a political controversy, with the BJP launching a sharp attack on the Congress leader. Reddy, on Monday, claimed that the Congress is successful only in the south and not in the northern states, alleging that the “BJP stole Lord Ram”, who is revered in the north, while Shiva is worshipped in the southern states.
Reddy made the remarks during an event in Delhi, where he also alleged that there would be an agitation across the country against the SIR, similar to the “Simon, Go Back” movement witnessed during the freedom struggle.
“We are Dravidians. People here (north) are Aryans. We are devotees of Shiva. These are devotees of Lord Ram. BJP stole Ram. It’s an emotion. It’s a sentiment. Why does Modi ji not say ‘Har Har Mahadev’? Have BJP people ever said ‘Har Har Mahadev’ on a stage? They say only 'Jai Shri Ram'," Reddy said.
“Shiva is the God of the poor, Ram is the God of the rich, and the BJP is a party of the rich,” Reddy further claimed.