Day after meeting riot-accused in jail, Giriraj visits their homes
PATNA: Union minister and BJP leader Giriraj Singh on Sunday met the family members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Bajrang Dal men arrested five days ago on charges of rioting during Ramnavami in March.
Singh had met the two — Bajrang Dal’s Jitendra Pratap, and VHP’s Kailash Vishwakarma — in Nawada prison on Saturday.
“I am helpless in my own constituency (Nawada) and before my own people. The tears reflect my helplessness, as both the leaders (riot-accused) have been falsely implicated. The administration should have adopted a neutral stand,” he said, breaking down after meeting the two families on Sunday.
He later tore into the Nitish Kumar-led state government for “targeting the majority community in the name of maintaining communal harmony”.
In April, several BJP legislators and leaders had submitted a memorandum to Biahr DGP KS Dwivedi on “arrest of innocent people and one-sided action in the communal flare-ups” and alleged that the state police did not conduct an impartial investigation into the incidents of violence during Ram Navmi.
Bihar Congress leader and member of legislative council Premchandra Mishra said it was unfortunate that a Union minister was going to meet people accused of rioting.
“It is a sad commentary on the governance in Bihar. After all, Nitish Kumar says he cannot compromise on communalism, but here his own alliance partner is accusing him ...” he added.
The meet comes close on the heels of another party leader, Union minister Jayant Sinha, welcoming with garlands and sweets at his house eight convicted cow vigilantes who were part of a mob that lynched a 55-year-old Muslim trader in Ramgarh on June 29 last year. The convicts were released on bail and were taken the minister’s house in Hazaribagh where they were felicitated.