Patna: Union minister and BJP MP from Nawada, Giriraj Singh, on Sunday vowed to "ensure justice" to those arrested for the communal flare-ups in the district in April 2017 and March this year, even as ally JDU condemned his meeting with the accused.
"The way he (Giriraj) is trying to raise the issue is unwarranted. We condemn it. His intentions are not free from any malaise. This will lead to social tension and our senior leaders have never taught us to do so," senior JDU leader K.C. Tyagi said in Delhi on Sunday after the party's two-day national executive meeting got over.
Giriraj on Sunday met with the family members of Jitendra Pratap, the Nawada district Bajrang Dal convener, and Kailash Vishwakarma, a local Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader.
Jitendra and Kailash are lodged in the Nawada district jail.
Consoling the duo's families, the Union minister of state for micro, small and medium enterprises started crying.
"Being the local MP, I will ensure justice is done to them," he said, tears rolling down his cheeks.
On Saturday, Giriraj met the two leaders in the Nawada district jail and said they have been framed.
He slammed the Nitish Kumar government - of which his party is a part - for not being impartial in the investigation.
"When tension arose during Ram Navami in 2017, Jitu ji and Kailashji helped the district administration restore peace," Giriraj told The Telegraph. "They did the same thing when an idol... was vandalised at Akabarpur in Nawada district.
"The state government is trying to suppress the Hindus as one-sided action had been taken by the police.... This is not the way to deal with communal flare-ups," he added.
Jitendra and Kailash were arrested along with four others on July 3 this year, and the next day the Bajrang Dal and the VHP observed a bandh in protest in Nawada, around 140 km southeast of Patna.
"The police action is justified," said a police officer posted in Nawada.
Bihar director-general of police K.S. Dwivedi during his review meeting in Patna last month had directed officers to initiate action in communal flare-up cases.
At least eight districts, Nawada, Nalanda, Sheikhpura, Bhagalpur, Bhojpur, Samastipur and Muzaffarpur, had witnessed clashes before and after Ram Navami this year.
