Patna: Chief minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday sent out what was his first clear message to hardliners in the BJP: any attempt to disturb communal harmony would not be tolerated and he was willing to pay any price for it.
"I will not tolerate any breach in communal harmony and I am willing to pay any price for it," Nitish said, as he dug in his heels a day after voicing discomfiture with his ally.
"There are some people who think that they can gain politically by inciting conflict between two groups. I have kept a close watch on such people for 12 years and will continue to do so," he stressed while addressing a youth meet organised by former state Congress chief and now JDU member, Ashok Choudhary, at SK Memorial Hall.
Nitish's scathing comments appear to be directed at two Union ministers considered BJP hardliners - Giriraj Singh and Ashwini Choubey, who have a track record of issuing statements that touch off social tension.
In his speech, Nitish referred to the Darbhanga incident in which a 70-something tea kiosk owner was beheaded last week. "My colleague Sushil Kumar Modi came to know of the facts and informed me. He tweeted that the murder had taken place owing to a land dispute and the murdered man had put up a signboard of Prime Minister Narendra Modi two years ago. Yet (Sushil) Modi's statement was underplayed. But what happened after that?" he said, without naming Giriraj, who was shown on TV inciting a crowd to shout slogans against a deputy superintendent of police.
On Friday in Bhagalpur, Arjit Shashwat, son of Union minister Choubey, took out a motorcycle rally in spite of simmering tension.
Nitish asked the media not to publish statements made by politicians without verifying facts. "Nowadays on social media, statements go viral. Previously we knew of viral diseases. But on social media statements with bad language go viral and vitiate the atmosphere of the society. The government has to intervene by disrupting the Internet," he said.
A senior JDU leader, who spoke to The Telegraph on the condition of anonymity, said Nitish wants to drive home the message that he is in command. "He feels that it is time for him to assert who is the boss," the JDU leader said.
