Giriraj Singh, who wanted to send PM critics to Pak, is MoS in Modi cabinet

The induction of Giriraj Singh, who wanted to send prime minister Narendra Modi’s critics to Pakistan, into the cabinet has raised several eyebrows as he doesn’t fit into the criteria fixed by Modi. 

The 63-year-old member of Parliament from Nawada who was sworn-in as a minister of state on Sunday, faces criminal charges for delivering a hate speech and is out on bail in the matter. A controversial leader, Singh has been given ministerial berth on ‘Bhumihar quota’.

The addition of Singh into the PM’s council of ministers comes months ahead of elections in Bihar, where the BJP hopes to throw out the ruling Janata Dal United (JD-U) government, which is headed by Jitan Ram Manjhi, the proxy of Nitish Kumar. After Sunday’s expansion, the union government has eight ministers from Bihar. The other news faces from the state in the Modi team are Rajiv Pratap Rudy, a Rajput face, Ram Kripal Yadav, once a trusted aide of RJD chief Lalu Prasad is new Yadav face of BJP.

Singh is not new to controversies. In July this year, two months after he won the Lok Sabha election, over Rs 1 crore in cash was found from thieves who had robbed Singh’s home in Patna. A cousin of his publicly said the money belonged to him, and not the politician, but Singh is being investigated by the state police for alleged violation of tax laws.

Singh, who projects himself as a staunch supporter of Modi, had in 2010 announced he would invite Modi to campaign in his constituency after Nitish Kumar and JD-U chief Sharad Yadav had refused to hold Modi campaign in the state for assembly polls. Later on, he openly questioned former chief minister Nitish Kumar’s decision to return the aid given by then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi in 2008 for flood relief.

Giriraj Singh had also described slain Ranvir Sena chief Brahmeshwar Singh Mukhiya as a Gandhian in 2011. Ranvir Sena, a private militia of landed upper caste, was allegedly involved in killing of nearly 300 people, mostly Dalits.