With less than 48 hours left before Bihar votes in the first phase of a high-voltage Assembly election, Rajiv Ranjan Singh, Union Minister and Number 2 in the Nitish Kumar-led JDU, faces a police case for making provocative remarks during a poll campaign.
An FIR has been registered against Singh, also known as Lalan Singh, over a video in which he is heard telling supporters to ensure "some leaders are not allowed to leave their homes on voting day". The FIR, registered on the Election Commission's orders, invokes sections from the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Representation of the People Act.
The main opposition, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), had earlier flagged Singh's speech in Mokama Assembly constituency, which made headlines after local bahubali and JDU candidate Anant Singh was arrested in a murder case.
In the viral video, Singh is heard saying, "Some leaders should not be allowed to leave their homes on the day of elections. If they plead too much, take them with you, and after voting, bring them back home and put them to bed. They have to be packed away at home. Take charge now. There is no time left for elections."
Sharing the video, RJD had said Lalan Singh was running a bulldozer over the Election Commission's chest. "(He is saying) lock them up, take them to vote if they plead. Where is the dead Commission?" it asked.
Mokama is part of Munger Lok Sabha constituency, which Lalan Singh represents in Parliament. Earlier, in an interview with NDTV, he had alleged a conspiracy behind Anant Singh's arrest and said the 'bahubali' would win by a huge margin in the upcoming polls.
Anant Singh, who already has 28 criminal cases against him, has now been named an accused in the murder of gangster-turned-politician Dular Singh Yadav. Yadav had been campaigning for Jan Suraaj candidate in Mokama, Piyush Priyadarshi, but the party's leader, Prashant Kishor, has denied that Yadav was linked to Jan Suraaj.
NDTV yesterday asked Lalan Singh his views on campaigning for a tainted candidate. "How can you decide who is tainted? A candidate can be arrested. I can be arrested too. Will that make me a criminal? Police will investigate. Many people are proven innocent later," he replied.
Responding to the FIR against Lalan Singh, JDU's Neeraj Kumar alleged that the Opposition had "distorted" his remarks for "drama".
Earlier, RJD MP Manoj Jha said the party has approached the poll body over Singh's remarks. "Ask the Prime Minister what sort of 'jungle raj' this is. This man is your cabinet colleague and you are silent," he said, countering the NDA's 'jungle raj' attack on RJD chief Lalu Yadav tenure as Chief Minister.
