Patna: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which is at the helm of affairs in the Centre as well as Bihar, has called for a statewide bandh in the state on September 4 over abusive remarks made against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his late mother during a recent Opposition event in Bihar.
BJP’s Bihar State President Dilip Jaiswal announced that the bandh will last five hours, from 7 am to 12 noon. Essential services, including emergency and rail operations, will continue without disruption. The BJP Mahila Morcha will take the lead in organising the protests.
The bandh is a response to offensive comments reportedly made by a Congress worker during the Voter Adhikar Yatra in Darbhanga last week.
Umesh Kushwaha, a leader of the Janata Dal (United), which is the alliance partner of the ruling NDA in the state, condemned the use of abusive language against the prime minister and his mother. He stated, “During the Opposition’s rally in Darbhanga, abusive words were used against Prime Minister Modi and his mother. This is wrong, both morally and politically,” he said.
Kushwaha added, “Using such language is highly inappropriate, and so far, the Mahagathbandhan leaders have not apologised. This shows how arrogant they are. They have insulted our mothers and sisters, and now we will retaliate. Therefore, the NDA has called for a Bihar bandh, and the women’s wing will hold protests across Bihar.”
Prime Minister Modi made an indirect reference to Opposition leaders Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav during a speech on Tuesday. He referred to them as “naamdaar”, a term meaning people born into privilege. “These young princes born into royal families cannot understand the tapasya (struggles) of a poor mother and the suffering of her son. These ‘naamdaar’ people were born with a silver spoon in their mouths. The power of the country and Bihar seems like an inheritance of their family to them,” he said.
The BJP and NDA leaders maintain that such abusive language is unacceptable in politics and demand an apology from the Opposition. The bandh and protests reflect the growing tensions in Bihar’s political environment ahead of upcoming elections.