Sarfaraz Alam (Express Photo by Praveen Jain)
A day after Araria police in Bihar reportedly booked three youths for allegedly raising pro-Pakistan slogans after announcement of bypoll results there, RJD MP from the constituency Sarfaraz Alam on Friday stressed they did not belong to the party. Speaking to reporters outside the Parliament, the newly-elected Parliamentarian also said he did not believe in the slogans the youth concerned allegedly shouted.
“Those are not RJD men, not of the alliance. I don’t believe (in what they have said), I believe in secularism,” Alam told reporters. Meanwhile, Union Minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey, who hails from Bihar, told a news channel it was “unfortunate” that such slogans were allegedly raised in India.
“It needs to be identified who these people are,” he added. According to media reports, the Araria police yesterday filed a FIR against three local youths for allegedly shouting slogans such as “Pakistan zindabad” and “Bharat tere tukde honge” after the result of the bypoll was announced on Wednesday. Alam had defeated BJP’s Pradeep Kumar Singh by over 60,000 votes.