Amit Shah steps in after JDU-BJP war of words over Iftar

NEW DELHI: BJP president Amit Shah on Tuesday called Union minister Giriraj Singh and advised him to exercise restraint after a tweet the latter posted on an Iftar party ruffled political feathers in Bihar.

The event at the centre of the matter was an Iftar party hosted by HAM leader Jitan Ram Manjhi in Patna a day earlier which was attended by state chief minister Nitish Kumar, deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi and LJP leader Chirag Paswan, among others.

On Tuesday morning, Singh tweeted pictures of the Iftar party, in which Kumar, Modi and Paswan can be seen with Manjhi, and wrote, “This picture would have been beautiful if fruits were being offered during Navratri with same eagerness. Why do we pretend and hold back on our own faith.”


The comment did not go down well with the JDU camp. JDU secretary general K C Tyagi said, “The PM himself had said during his address in the central hall of Parliament that sabka sath, sabka vikas and sabka vishwas should be the moto of the new government. His (Singh’s) statement is against the spirit of what the PM said. What’s the harm in attending Iftar to win the confidence of minority community? He only speaks to get some media attention.”

Even Modi criticised Giriraj’s remark. “I am proud to be a Hindu. I take part in Holi programmes too, not just Iftar. I have been attending Iftar celebrations for 25 years. People who never hosted a Holi milan party are raising questions today,” he said. Paswan questioned Singh’s post in a tweet, saying, “Celebrating festivals bring harmony in society. Questioning them is like questioning Indian traditions.”