The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Bihar chief, Jagdanand Singh, was denounced by the Bharatiya Janata Party on 8 September for his inflammatory statement that those who applied ‘tika/tilak’ (a Hindu religious sign) to their foreheads caused the country to become a slave and that such individuals are now attempting to do the same.
He was addressing some party workers at RJD headquarters in Patna on 7 September where he alleged, “Religion is a thing of faith, and if it is implemented as a principle, crores of people living in India will go the opposite way. Ask them (Bharatiya Janata Party and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) who made India a slave. Those who put Tika on the forehead made India a slave. They are making efforts again to make India a slave country.”
The leader further claimed, “Demolishing mosques or constructing temples would not benefit anyone. The country would not go on if we divide between Hindus and Muslims.”
BJP leaders slammed him and conveyed that he was splitting the nation along caste and community lines. “Does he even know the history of India,” asked former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. He accused, “Neither does he know anything, nor does he want to read anything. He should read Dr Ram Manohar Lohia to understand how he has described Lord Ram, Krishna and Mahadev.”
The veteran leader who also hails from Bihar charged Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi of “maintaining silence” over the contentious comments about the Hindu faith made by some of her party’s officials and Tamil Nadu ally Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).
“Has a decision been taken to degrade Hindus at the recent Opposition meeting,” he questioned while talking to the reporters at the party headquarters in Patna.
Arvind Kumar Singh, BJP leader and spokesperson mentioned, “Lalu Prasad Yadav was recently seen in a video while cooking mutton along with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during the auspicious month of Sawan. It is a matter of investigation about what kind of meat he had cooked. People of the country need to be alert to such leaders.”
Nikhil Anand, the national general secretary of BJP Other Backward Class (OBC) Morcha proclaimed, “Jagadanand Singh is a leader who does not believe in Lord Krishna or Lord Rama. Hence, we do not expect much from him.”
He added, “He is objecting to the Ram temple in Ayodhya and supports the statement of Udhayanidhi Stalin. He is making statements against Hindus and Sanatan Dharma. Anyone can understand his mindset. These statements he makes are only to please his bosses in the party.”
However, the state leaders of the Left and Congress parties, which are allies with the Mahagathbandhan declined to respond to the RJD stalwart’s remarks. A senior Congress party leader in the state, who asked to remain anonymous, voiced, “Though, it was having religious connotation and leaders of his stature must stay away from making such comments.”
Udhayanidhi Stalin’s derogatory comments on Sanatan Dharma
DMK youth wing chief and Tamil Nadu Sports Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin equated Sanatan Dharma with diseases and called out for its complete eradication. “Mosquitoes, dengue, flu, malaria, corona, we should not oppose these things. They’ve to be eradicated. The same is the case with Sanatan,” he stated while addressing the ‘Eradicate Sanatan Conference.’
When the controversy escalated, he asserted that he would stand by every word he uttered concerning the religion and further urged for uprooting it completely. “Uprooting Sanatan Dharma is upholding humanity and human equality. I spoke on behalf of the oppressed & marginalised, who suffer from the Sanatan Dharma. I spoke on behalf of the oppressed & marginalized, who suffer from the Sanatan Dharma.”
Meanwhile, he garnered support from the Congress party including the son of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge, son of veteran Congressman P Chidambaram and Lok Sabha MP Karti P Chidambaram and Tamil Nadu Congress spokesperson and General Secretary Lakshmi Ramachandran for his outrageous statement.
The party exposed more of his anti-Hindu bigotry when Nilgiris MP A Raja, on 6 September asserted that Udayanidhi Stalin had been too lenient and that Sanatan Dharma should be compared to HIV and social stigmas. He alleged, “Sanatan Dharma should be compared to diseases with social stigma like HIV and leprosy.”
Another DMK leader and spokesperson Constantine Ravindran spewed more venom on Hinduism and claimed, “No one is educated in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar because of Sanatana Dharma. They are brainless. They don’t have rational thinking about life.”
