Giriraj Singh remains defiant as BJP tries to control damage

PATNA: Former Bihar minister and senior BJP leader Giriraj Singh — whose statement that all those opposed to Narendra Modi should go to Pakistan has stirred up a controversy — has remained defiant on Sunday even as the party’s state leadership went into a damage-control mode, terming his comment irresponsible and uncalled for.

“I still stand by what I said; there was nothing wrong about it. Is it not true that Pakistan is using all its resources to prevent Narendra Modi from becoming the PM? Even within the country, there are people with Pakistani mindset who are opposing Modi and their proper destination would be Pakistan, which is their political Mecca-Medina,” Singh told ET.

Singh, BJP’s candidate from the Nawada Lok Sabha seat, even took a pot-shot at former Deputy Chief Minister and party leader Sushil Kumar Modi who had disapproved his statements publicly.

“What he has said does not concern me. But in democracy I am entitled to hold my opinion. I have not received any showcause (notice) from my party but if there is one, I will surely explain my views,” Singh said, even as he denied that Narendra Modi had pulled him up over telephone for the remarks.

Singh may have timed his controversial remark to polarise the electorate on religious lines as the BJP may feel threatened by the consolidation of minority votes towards the Rashtriya Janata Dal-Congress alliance.

In his initial days, he was looked upon as the political ‘henchman’ of Sushil Modi, but over a period of time he broke away from him and sided with the dissidents who gunned for the former deputy CM.

Recently, he even issued a statement saying BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain had all the attributes to be projected as the BJP’s CM candidate in Bihar, a view which created a stir within the party as it was seen as a challenge to Sushil Modi’s candidature. Being a vocal supporter of Narendra Modi, Singh projected himself as his unofficial spokesman.

Singh was the animal husbandry minister in the Nitish Kumar government before the Bihar CM broke away from the BJP-led NDA. As a minister, he used his official bungalow for the commercial use of emu farming, a decision which drew sharp criticism from the opposition. He also had the audacity to occupy the designated official bungalow meant for the chairman of the Vidhan Parishad for nearly two years.