Shakeel Ahmed Khan at the meet in Patna. Picture by Deepak Kumar

Patna, June 1: The RJD today slammed the BJP for the latter’s opposition to the proposed draft of the Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence (Access to Justice and Reparation) Bill, 2011.

Party chief spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed Khan and RJD principle general secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Ram Kripal Yadav said the proposed bill is in favour of the nation and it is necessary that the bill be passed.

While addressing journalists at the party office, Shakeel Ahmed Khan slammed BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain for opposing the bill.

“A state of anarchy is prevailing in the state and every common man is frustrated with the present government. So to divert the mind, the BJP is using another tactic — opposition of the Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence bill, which could have curbed the menace created by rioters. The statement by Shahnawaz Hussain is completely against the nation. How could he say that the proposed bill is not in favour of the nation?” Khan said.

“Few days ago Shahnawaz Hussain said there is no need for such a bill. He also said the existing laws are enough and the bill is against its own people,” he said.

“Does it mean that the BJP wants to give complete freedom to the rioters? It is strange because Shahnawaz Hussain, is an MP from Bhagalpur and has faced riots in his constituency. We want to know what the BJP wants. We have been saying that the BJP is a communal party and they give patronage to communalists,” he said.

Khan said the RJD “firmly supports the bill and it is very important to curb the rioters, who get away easily.”

Ram Kripal Yadav said: “The real face of the BJP is coming out and Nitish is having his alliance with such kind of communal party, who carry the image of hardcore communalists. We want to know the stand of chief minister Nitish Kumar on the issue, as the BJP is the alliance partner. This shows that Nitish is not secular.”

He said the state is “on the verge of collapsing under the rule of Nitish”, citing the example of Gopalganj where a doctor was beaten to death by the prisoners of a jail.

“Nitish’s ministers and MLAs have turned into goons. The real face of the Nitish government can be easily seen after the shocking incident when JD (U) MLA from Hathuwa Assembly seat Ram Sevak Singh brutally beat up two innocent villagers for casting vote against his candidates in the panchayat election,” Yadav added.