The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) mounted a stiff political attack on Monday against the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-Congress-led Mahagathbandhan in Bihar on charges of trying to substitute constitutional rule with Shariat law in the election-oriented state.
BJP National Information and Technology Department chief Amit Malviya accused former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and his son, Tejashwi Yadav, of propagating a threatening political discourse. "The new motto aired by Lalu and Tejashwi in the run-up to the Assembly elections appears to be: 'Vote for me and plunder whatever you want,'" Malviya tweeted on social media site X.
Malviya, in his post, stated that the true agenda behind Tejashwi Yadav's recent Gandhi Maidan rally had been unveiled. "The true agenda of Tejashwi Yadav's Gandhi Maidan rally has now come to light. There is no more talk from the stage of Babasaheb Ambedkar's Constitution, but of Sharia and Shariat laws," he posted.
He also asked if RJD chief and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi wanted to rule Bihar by religious law rather than the Constitution. "Do Tejashwi and Rahul Gandhi want to operate Bihar not under the Constitution, but under Shariat? The people will give a reply to such dangerous politics of splitting the nation in 2025. Bihar will be ruled by the Constitution, not by Shariat," Malviya said.
Malviya's tweet was followed by a cartoon strip that showed Tejashwi Yadav supposedly promising that if RJD-Congress alliance forms the government, Parliament House, Delhi airport, and Govindpura village in Patna will be transferred to the Waqf Board.
He also shared a video clip from Tejashwi’s rally in Patna, where a speaker on stage congratulated the crowd for gathering at Gandhi Maidan at the call of groups committed to Sharia principles.
The rally, 'Save Waqf - Save Constitution', witnessed Tejashwi Yadav blaming the BJP for trying to dilute the rights of marginalized groups. Speaking before a gathering of people, he alleged that the governing party was involved in a conspiracy to disown the right to vote for the poor, backward classes, Dalits, extremely backward groups, tribal groups, and minorities in Bihar.
Parallel to Malviya's statement, BJP National Spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi also attacked the INDIA alliance, claiming that previous Congress governments attempted to implement Sharia law in a roundabout way.
Bihar, where there are more than 7.89 crore registered voters, will be conducting Assembly elections for its 243-strong legislature between November and December this year.
