'Go to Pak with family': BJP leader posts video message for ex Bihar minister

Abdul Bari Siddiqui, a leader of Lalu Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), has come under attack from the rival BJP over his recent comments on "desh ka mahaul (the situation in the country)" and "advising his children to settle abroad". In a video, which is being widely shared, the RJD leader can be heard saying, "My son is studying in Harvard. And the daughter is studying in London. The kind of the situation in the country, which has emerged, I just told my children - find jobs abroad."

"If you can get the citizenship, take it," he further says in Hindi. Suggesting that the country's environment "is no longer conducive" (in an apparent reference to the Muslim community), the RJD leader can be further heard saying: "You can understand how painful it is for a person to tell his children to leave their homeland. But such are the times that we are living in." Siddiqui is said to be a close aide of Lalu Prasad Yadav and has served Bihar as minster before.

Expressing anger over his comments, and labelling them as "anti-India", BJP spokesperson Nikhil Anand posted a video on Twitter. "The comment is condemnable, and it reflects the thought-process of the RJD. It just shows the kind of politics the party wants to indulge in. This is politics of religion."

"Siddiqui calls himself a secular leader but his comments are anti-India and against Hindus. He should apologise to people of the country. If he feels so suffocated, and if has a problem with all the facilities and comforts that have come his way as a leader, he should go to Pakistan with whole family," Anand can be further heard saying.