Kya yeh shabd uchit hain?: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar responds to Giriraj Singh's 'beat up govt officials’ remark

Union fisheries minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Giriraj Singh, who is known for making contentious remarks, has embroiled himself into another controversy again. While addressing a function in his constituency of Begusarai in Bihar on Saturday, Singh told people that they should beat up government officials who don’t listen to them. “If even that does not work, then Giriraj shall throw his weight behind you,” he said and which led to an overwhelming appreciation from the public.

Singh’s comment led to a wave of reactions within the state’s political spectrum. Bihar chief minister and Janata Dal (United) president Nitish Kumar also weighed in.

“Aap unhi se puchiye (ask him only),” Kumar said on Sunday after reporters asked what he had to say about the Union minister’s remark. Kumar further questioned whether it was justified or appropriate to use words like ‘pitai’ (beating) and then refused to speak on this matter.

Apart from Kumar, opposition parties in Bihar such as the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) strongly condemned Singh’s remark. The BSP’s national spokesperson, Sudhindra Bhadoria, said on Sunday that such a statement might create a law and order problem and added that why hasn’t the Centre taken any action against the Union minister. The RJD hit out at Singh as well as CM Kumar and said that whether these two parties were running a government or a ‘Mahajungleraj’ in the state. The current government in Bihar is under the realm of the alliance between the JD(U) and the BJP.

“On one hand, @NitishKumar tells youth that they would be jailed and not be given employment if they question the government or its officials. While on the other, eccentric Giriraj Singh says that government officials should be beaten up with sticks. Is this a government or a ‘Mahajungleraj’,” the RJD’s tweet, roughly translated from Hindi, read.

A BJP leader in Patna, who did not wish to be named, told news agency PTI that Singh’s statement should be taken figuratively and not in a literal sense. “Giriraj Singh is a mass leader who has to be responsive towards public anger,” the leader said.