Opposition slams Bihar BJP chief for 'finger chopping' remark

The opposition RJD and Congress on Tuesday slammed Bihar BJP chief Nityanand Rai for his remarks that fingers raised at Prime Minister Narendra Modi will either be "broken or chopped off".

Rai, who is a Lok Sabha member from Ujiyarpur, had on Monday said: "Unki aur uthne waali ungli ko, uthne waale haath ko, hum sub milke ya toh tod dein, zaroorat padi to kaat dein (Any finger or hand raised against the Prime Minister, should either be broken by us, or, if need be, it should be chopped off)."

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi was present on stage when Rai proposed these steps against any form of dissent against Modi.

Rashtriya Janata Dal spokesperson Shakti Yadav said Rai has exposed the "mindset" of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

"Do these words deserve any place in a democratic set-up like India? The BJP leader is behaving in this way to defend a dictator," Yadav said.

Bihar Congress president Kaukab Quadri said Rai has expressed the fear of his party. He said there were growing voices of protest against the three-and-a-half-year-old central government led by Modi.

"People have every right to raise their voice, finger or hands against the Prime Minister. We are living in a democratic country," he said.

Bihar's ruling Janata Dal-United is, however, silent over the statement of its ally BJP leader. JD-U leaders have refused to comment on it.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had joined hands with the BJP and formed the government in July after dumping the RJD and the Congress of the Grand Alliance.

Earlier in November, Rai had also claimed that Modi is a reincarnation of Swami Vivekananda.