(MENAFN- AsiaNet News) RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav recently stoked a controversy after he dubbed Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma as the“Chinese version of Yogi”.
Tejashwi Yadav had taken a dig at Sarma over the Assam Assembly scrapping the two-hour break for Jumma prayers.
Tejashwi Yadav's post on X (formerly Twitter) took a swipe at Himanta Sarma as someone who wants to "gain cheap popularity and become the Chinese version of Yogi," alluding to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
The RJD leader did not indicate if he was referring to inferior quality goods from China, or the north-east region, where people have often complained of racist remarks directed towards them.
"Assam Chief Minister (Himanta Biswa Sarma) wants cheap publicity and wants to remain in the news. I had tweeted yesterday as well that he is the Chinese replica of Yogi Adityanath. He wants the situation to deteriorate. Yogi Adityanath is using bulldozers and he (Assam CM) is stopping namaz, the country belongs to everyone...", Tejashwi Yadav said.
Responding to Tejashwi Yadav's attack, Himanta Sarma said, "Our work will not stop based on comments of people. Our work is to keep going forward."
"Doing away with the two-hour
jumma
break was not the Chief Minister's decision, but of all Hindu and Muslim legislators. When the assembly Speaker on Friday announced it, no Muslim MLA in the house raised any protest. There are 25 Muslim MLAs in Assam assembly, out of a total 126," Himanta Sarma said.
BJP hits out at Tejashwi Yadav
BJP on Saturday hit out at Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav, who dubbed Himanta Biswa Sarma as the“Chinese version of Yogi”, saying that such remarks reflect the 'racist mentality' of INDIA bloc leaders.
BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla while drawing parallels between Yadav's comments with that of remarks made by India Overseas Congress Chairman Sam Pitroda, accused the INDIA bloc of harboring a racist mentality, suggesting that Pitroda's influence has permeated Yadav's mindset.
“Tejashwi Yadav labels Assam CM @himantabiswa as a“Chinese” because he is an Assamese and from the North-East! This reflects racist mentality of the INDI Alliance & it seems Sam Pitroda has taken over mindspace of Tejaswi when he makes such racist comments. Does Rahul Gandhi, Gaurav Gogoi endorse this as“Muhabbat ki Dukaan”. Will they end ties with RJD for such unconstitutional, anti Bharat Jodo, racist and hateful comments?” he said in a post on X.
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh, who is from the BJP, waded into the battle and attacked Yadav, alleging that the RJD leader had labelled the Assam Chief Minister "a Chinese just because he is from the northeast."
"It appears that the INDI Alliance is made up of a bunch of ignorant racists who have no information about the history and geography of our country. First, it was Sam Pitroda. Now, it's Tejashwi Yadav who is being racist towards the people of northeast," Singh said.
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