Bihar BJP MLA Haribhushan Thakur, in Bihar\u2019s Madhubani district, on Friday reiterated the need to take away the voting rights of Muslims.\u00a0 On Friday, he told the media: \u201cAs Muslims were given a separate country at the time of Partition in 1947, they should leave for Pakistan. And if they live in India, they should live like second-class citizens. We urge the government to take away Muslims\u2019 voting rights.\u201d<\/p>\n
His inflammatory words\u00a0prompted the party\u2019s state unit to issue him a show-cause notice to explain his remarks.\u00a0 BJP\u2019s alliance partner JD(U), meanwhile, reacted sharply, with its spokesperson Neeraj Kumar calling Thakur\u2019s comments \u201cpreposterous and inflammatory\u201d.<\/p>\n
Haribhushan Thakur had made similar comments on Thursday.\u00a0 Thakur alleged that Muslims have an agenda \u2014 that of making India \u201can Islamist state\u201d. Thakur, known for making controversial remarks, also said that Muslim MLAs should also face action from the Bihar Assembly Speaker if they refuse to sing \u2018Vande Mataram\u2019. \u201cWhat is the national song (for), after all? It is to worship the Earth, flowers, and water. Will they (Muslims) stop drinking water (if they refuse to sing Vande Mataram),\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
JD(U)\u2019s Neeraj Kumar said, \u201cIt seems Thakur has no knowledge of Indian citizenship. Who is he to decide the citizenship of people living in India? He is not going to get any political mileage; he just wants to get media attention.\u201d BJP state president Sanjay Jaiswal said, \u201cWe have already dissociated ourselves from Thakur\u2019s statement and served him a notice to explain why he said what he said.\u201d Guru Prakash Padwan, a BJP national spokesperson, said: \u201cThis is absolutely unwarranted.<\/p>\n
Through our policies, we have ensured that government schemes are reaching to the last person in line regardless of gender, caste, and religion. Our perspective is inclusive in nature\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n