On Friday, April 14, a tweet was posted from the official handle of Janata Dal-United (JDU) wishing the people on the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti. In this tweet, a distorted map of India was shown, with areas of Pakistan occupied Kashmir excluded from it.
A distorted map of India landed the party in controversy. The now-deleted tweet read, “Tribute to Bharat Ratna #बाबा_साहेब Dr. #भीमराव_अंबेडकर ji on his birth anniversary, who fought a long battle for justice and equality for every oppressed and deprived section of the society.”
However, as soon as the people slammed Nitish Kumar’s party for the distorted map, the contentious tweet was deleted. Hours later, the same tweet and image were posted again, this time however, with a correct map.
The JDU’s ‘broken India’ tweet comes at a time when Nitish Kumar is once again eyeing for a greater role in the national politics, hobnobbing with opposition leaders in an attempt to stitch an elusive alliance ahead of the general elections scheduled in 2024.
CM Nitish Kumar also attended an Iftar party where the Red Fort was shown amidst the attacks on Ram Navami processions in Bihar. After using this to deliver a political message, he headed to Delhi where he met Arvind Kejriwal, Rahul Gandhi, and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge. He discussed uniting the opposition against the BJP before the general elections scheduled to be held in 2024.
Meanwhile, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) alleged that the JDU shared the image of a distorted map of India in a bid to please the banned Islamist outfit Popular Front of India (PFI).
The official Twitter handle of the Bihar unit of the BJP slammed the JDU over the said tweet and wrote, “On Babasaheb ji’s birth anniversary itself, the @Jduonline supporters have tarnished the constitution by showing a divided India. After all, this is all they have to do to please their PFI bosses and newfound friends! But listen with your ears open, Jammu and Kashmir was, is, and will always be an integral part of India!”
बाबासाहेब जी की जयंती पर ही @Jduonline के जमूरों ने खंडित भारत दिखाकर संविधान को तार-तार किया है।
— BJP Bihar (@BJP4Bihar) April 14, 2023
अपने पीएफआई के आकाओं और नये नवेले दोस्तों को खुश करने के लिए आखिरकार इतना तो इन्हें करना ही पड़ेगा!
लेकिन कान खोलकर सुन लो, जम्मू-कश्मीर भारत का अभिन्न अंग था, है और हमेशा रहेगा! https://t.co/0CDwm1I7ek
Meanwhile, Nitish Kumar, the chief minister of Bihar, and Lalan Singh, the president of the JDU, have been criticized by Manan Krishna, the Bihar BJP’s social media coordinator.
“With his picture on the birth anniversary of Baba Saheb Ambedkar is @Jduonline insulting them by putting a ‘fragmented map’ of India or do these people not consider Ladakh as a part of India like China, Pakistan, and #PFI? Tell @NitishKumar, @LalanSingh_1 g,” Manan Krishna tweeted.
बाबा साहब अम्बेदकर जी की जयंती पर उनकी तस्वीर के साथ
— Manan krishna (@Manankrishna) April 14, 2023
भारत का 'खंडित नक्शा' लगा कर @Jduonline को उनका अपमान कर रही है या यह लोग चीन, पाकिस्तान और #PFI की तरह लद्दाख को भारत का हिस्सा नहीं मानते?
बताइए @NitishKumar , @LalanSingh_1 जी https://t.co/md6Ud7CTi8 pic.twitter.com/cWuPqj8qGE
In another tweet, the Bihar BJP’s social media convenor alleged that the use of a distorted map of India demonstrates the extent to which the supporters of PFI and Tukde Tukde gang dominate JDU.
भारत के खंडित नक्शे का प्रयोग दिखलाता है कि #PFI और टुकड़े टुकड़े गैंग के समर्थक इस पार्टी पर किस कदर हावी हो चुके हैं
— Manan krishna (@Manankrishna) April 14, 2023
बाबा साहब की जयंती के दिन किया गया यह अभद्र आचरण न केवल उनके समर्थकों बल्कि देश के हर एक नागरिक का अपमान है
देखना है कि @bihar_police इस पर क्या कारवाई करती ह pic.twitter.com/1MhSzG5pak
“The use of a distorted map of India shows how strongly #PFI and Tukde Tukde gang supporters have dominated this party. This indecent behavior done on the day of Babasaheb’s birth anniversary is an insult not only to his supporters but also to every citizen of the country. Let’s see what action @bihar_police takes on it,” BJP’s Manan Krishna tweeted.
