A police complaint was lodged against RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Saturday in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli for allegedly making “derogatory, defamatory and socially divisive” remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The FIR lodged by BJP’s Gadchiroli MLA Milind Ramji Narote comes at a time large crowds are turning up for the ongoing Voter Adhikar Yatra in poll-bound Bihar, led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Tejashwi and other Mahagathbandhan leaders.

The case against the leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly was based on his X posts on Friday. “Today, a shop of lies and rhetoric will be set up in Gaya,” Tejashwi said, targeting Modi’s visit to Gaya to inaugurate and lay the
foundation of several development projects.

A cartoon showing Modi manning a “shop of rhetorics” with a board stating “100% guarantee of every promise turning into a rhetoric” was also attached to the post.

The other post featured a campaign video for the ongoing Yatra against the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Quoting from the campaign song in Hindi, Tejashwi urged Modi to listen to the “outpouring of Bihar’s people” before “raining promises in Gaya”.

“Dear PM Ji, Why do you tell so many lies morning and evening, Ji? Before raining promises in Gaya today, make sure to listen to this song, it’s the outpouring of Bihar’s people for you,” the post read. The campaign video was attached to the post.

In his police complaint, Narote said the posts called the Prime Minister a “liar” and accused him of making false promises. These messages were “derogatory, defamatory and socially divisive”, the FIR said, alleging that the propaganda posts were intended to create fear and disturb peace and harmony.

Based on the complaint, Gadhchiroli Police registered a case under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita that deal with the promotion of hatred or ill-will against societal harmony. Tejashwi was booked for making repeated statements against the government with the intention to cause public mischief.

Reacting to the FIR in the middle of the Yatra along with Rahul, Tejashwi appeared defiant. “Who is scared of an FIR? Saying the word ‘jumla’ (rhetoric) has also become a crime... They fear the truth... We are not scared of any FIR and we speak the truth,” he told reporters in Katihar.

Rahul, Tejashwi and other Mahagathbandhan leaders are undertaking the over two-week-long Yatra in Bihar against the SIR, accusing the ruling BJP of “vote theft” in collusion with the Election Commission.

The Yatra, which started in south Bihar’s Sasaram last Sunday, has been drawing huge crowds, sparking concern in the ruling NDA camp ahead of the polls in October-November. The Yatra, which is scheduled to culminate at a rally in Patna on September 1 after covering 1,300km, is meant to mobilise public opinion against the “exclusionary” voter roll revision with an eye on the polls.

The RJD and Congress leaders have claimed that the people’s response to the Yatra has been beyond their expectations. Apart from “vote theft” allegations, Rahul
and Tejashwi have also been flagging price rise and lack of jobs to power their election campaign.