In the face of a scathing opposition attack, the MLA defended his action terming it as ‘nothing wrong’ and a ‘historical tradition’
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI – The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator from Sitamarhi in Bihar, Mithilesh Kumar, openly distributed swords among his Hindutva supporters during the Dussehra festivities, drawing the wrath of opposition leaders.
The leader distributed swords and copies of Ramayana amid local ‘pandals’ to equip them for ‘Hindutva Raksha’. In the face of a scathing opposition attack, the MLA defended his action terming it as ‘nothing wrong’ and a ‘historical tradition’.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) criticised the incident and saw it as potentially disrupting the harmony between different religious communities.
RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari marked it as a mishap with ‘wrong and provocative signals.’ On the other hand, senior Congress leader Prem Chandra also slammed the MLA’s step of spreading ferocity amid Hindu religious authorities.
“So long as they had been distributing copies of Ramayana it was alright. But swords are an act of provocation,” he said.
RJD leader Sunil Kushwaha also slammed the distribution of swords. “To spread hate in society is the key purpose of the Bharatiya Janata Party. They give pens to their children and swords to other children,” media reports quoted him as saying.
Janata Dal-United (JDU) leader Rajiv Ranjan said that the matter needs a proper investigation to check if these weapons are only symbolic or could be used in real.
Stirring up communal prejudices, the videos of Mithilesh Kumar have made several rounds on different social media platforms in which he is defining the reasons for distributing ‘Shstra’ (weapons) with ‘Shaastra’ (religious scriptures) together. In the video, the MLA can be seen taking weapons out from his vehicle in a saffron dress, marigold garland, and a muffler with a red bow printed on it.
Without justifying this act on a legal-rational roadmap, Mithilesh Kumar only provided the details of religious aspects and did not explain how the ‘sword distribution’ is good in current political situations when hate crimes against minority communities are rising like never before.
“What would I say? It’s written in the 16th chapter of the Mahabharata. Non-violence is the utmost profound thing but violence is also devout to safeguard religion,” he said while quoting a Shloka (couplet) from Mahabharata.
“It’s just my little contribution in the resolution of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make India a developed country by the end of 2047,” he said.
The BJP has been advocating and backing these sword distributions with several different pleas.
‘‘Shaastra’ and ‘Shstra’ go hand in hand in Sanatan religion,” Union Minister Giriraj Singh said supporting the Sitamarhi MLA.