Patna: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Bihar unit chief Jagadanand Singh has sparked a controversy with his remarks that people with ’tika/tilak’ on their forehead were responsible for making India a slave country.
While addressing the party workers in his office in Patna, Singh further said that Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were indulging in politics over ‘Sanatana’.
"Religion is a thing of faith and if it is implemented as a principle, crores of people living in India will go the opposite way. Ask them (BJP-RSS) who made India a slave. Those who put Tika on the forehead made India a slave. They are making efforts again to make India a slave country,” Singh said.
He further said that "demolishing mosques or constructing temples would not affect anyone. The country would not run if we divide between Hindu and Muslims".
Singh’s remarks come amid the ongoing row over Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin’s son, Udhayanidhi Stalin’s remarks about Sanatana Dharma.
The BJP slammed the RJD chief saying that its leaders were the ones actually dividing the country on caste and communal lines.
“Lalu Yadav was cooking mutton and eating it in the month of Sawan. It is a matter of investigation as to what kind of meat he had cooked. He is trying to make his son the chief minister and himself the prime minister. ..People of the country need to be alert with such leaders,” said Arvind Kumar Singh, BJP leader and spokesperson.
“Jagadanand Singh is a leader who does not believe in Lord Krishna or Lord Rama. Hence, we do not expect much from him. He is objecting to the Ram temple in Ayodhya and supports the statement of Udhayanidhi Stalin. He is making statements against Hindus and Sanatan Dharma. Anyone can understand his mindset. These statements he is making is only to please his bosses in the party,” said Nikhil Anand, the national general secretary of BJP OBC Morcha.