NDA enforces 5-hr bandh in Bihar to protest hurling of abuse at PM's mother

Patna: Women workers of the NDA constituents in Bihar on Thursday enforced a five-hour state-wide bandh to protest the alleged hurling of abuse at the mother of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Congress' recently concluded 'Voter Adhikar Yatra'. The members of women cells of BJP, JD(U) and other alliance partners enforced the bandh, which began at 7 am, and staged protests in Patna and other areas. At Patna's Income Tax roundabout, the protesters raised slogans and displayed placards, slamming the Congress and RJD over the incident.

Senior BJP leaders, state ministers, party MPs, MLAs and workers also staged a sit-in outside the state unit office. Bihar BJP president Dilip Jaiswal, MPs Ravi Shankar Prasad and Dharmshila Gupta, and other senior leaders participated in the dharna. Speaking to reporters, senior BJP leader and former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, said, "Bihar will not tolerate the insult to Modi ji's late mother. Their shamelessness is such that not a single senior Congress leader has apologised for the incident so far. This shows the arrogance of the Congress leaders and their alliance partners. People of Bihar will never forget those who hurled abuse at the deceased mother of the PM." Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, in a post on X, wrote, "The disrespectful comment made against the late mother of PM Modi has hurt the soul of the entire nation. This is not just an insult to one mother, but to every mother in the country. In protest against this indecent behaviour, the women's wing has taken to the streets. Today, the entire country is united for the dignity of the mother and respect for women."

Speaking to media reporters, Patna (Central) Superintendent of Police Diksha said, "Adequate forces have been deployed at all points to prevent any untoward incident." Similar protests were organised by NDA constituents in different parts of the state, including Nawada, Katihar, Muzaffarpur and Darbhanga. Last week, a purported video of a person screaming an expletive into a microphone at a small podium erected on the outskirts of Darbhanga by a local Congress leader went viral, even as the organiser claimed that no party functionary of consequence was present at the time of the incident. The accused, a 25-year-old resident of Darbhanga, has been arrested, but tempers continue to be frayed with the BJP hitting the streets on the issue and its workers exchanging fisticuffs with Congress leaders at the opposition party's state headquarters. In his first reaction to the incident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 2 said he was "deeply pained" by the incident, but asserted that while he might forgive the RJD and the Congress, the people of the state will never "pardon them". "My late mother had nothing to do with politics, so what was her fault; why was she abused?" he had said, with his voice choking with emotion. "I may forgive them for once, but the people of this country have never brooked any insult to one's mother... It is now the duty of every son of Bihar to hold the RJD-Congress combine accountable for their conduct. In every town and street, wherever their leaders go, they must get the message loud and clear that insults to mothers and sisters will not be tolerated," the PM had added.