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Nitish Kumar Questions Modi's 'Deafening Silence' On Dadri Lynching

Nitish Kumar Questions Modi's 'Deafening Silence' On Dadri Lynching
NEW DELHI, INDIA - AUGUST 19: JDU leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar during an interview at Hindustan Times House on August 19, 2015 in New Delhi, India. Aam Aadmi Party leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will campaign against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the run-up to the Bihar assembly polls. (Photo by Raj K Raj/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
Hindustan Times via Getty Images
NEW DELHI, INDIA - AUGUST 19: JDU leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar during an interview at Hindustan Times House on August 19, 2015 in New Delhi, India. Aam Aadmi Party leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will campaign against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the run-up to the Bihar assembly polls. (Photo by Raj K Raj/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

NEW DELHI -- While accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of adding "communal texture" to the Bihar State Assembly elections, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar joined the chorus demanding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi break his "defeaning silence" on the lynching of Mohammed Ikhlaq, a Muslim man, who was beaten to death by a Hindu mob alleging that he had slaughtered a cow.

Kumar lashed out against Modi on Thursday, while the prime minister was addressing an election rally in Munger in which he attacked Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav for his "Hindus also eat beef" remark.

Kumar's Janata Dal (United) has allied with Yadav's RJD and the Congress Party to prevent the Bharatiya Janata Party and its partners from coming into power in Bihar. One week ahead of the polls, Modi is on a campaigning blitz, addressing rallies in Munger, Begusarai, Samastipur and Nawada on Thursday.

"The real Modi on display-brazen attempt to add communal texture to Bihar polls,but deafening silence on deplorable incidence of Dadri," Kumar tweeted today.

"All to see why Vajpayee ji was forced to remind him to follow Raj Dharma, but wonder who will do the Vajpayee today?" he said.

The real Modi on display-brazen attempt to add communal texture to Bihar polls,but deafening silence on deplorable incidence of Dadri (1/2)

— Nitish Kumar (@NitishKumar) October 8, 2015

While Modi is keeping quiet on the Dadri lynching, several BJP leaders made outrageous and insensitive remarks about the killing of Ikhlaq on September 28.

Earlier this week, the Congress Party also berated Modi for his "deafening silence on the inflammatory, provocative and incendiary statements aimed at rabble-rousing by Union Ministers and BJP leaders." "He should clarify and break his silence or else it will be construed that they have your approval," Congress Party leader Pramod Tiwari said, PTI reported.

Following a backlash against his "Hindus also eat beef" remark, last week, Yadav backtracked and said that a "shaitan" (devil) had put those words in his mouth.

At the rally in Munger today, Modi said that Yadav had "insulted" the Yaduvanshis by his beef remark, and mocked his "shaitan" justification.

"This insulted the Yaduvanshis, Laluji, these Yaduvanshis helped you to come to power. What all Yadavs eat is it not an insult of Yadavs and Bihar?" Modi said, PTI reported.

"I want to know how the shaitan got the address (of Lalu), he recognises that it was the shaitan in a similar manner as people recognise their relatives," he said.

In an interview with The Economic Times, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari asked whether the prime minister is expected to speak on every incident in the country.

"Bole to bole kyun? Nahi bole to kyun nahi bole? (If he speaks, they will ask, 'why did he speak?' If he does not speak, they will say 'why doesn't he speak?') What's this going on?," Gadkari said.

"Ab pradhan mantri kya har vishay par bolenge? (Should the PM speak on every single issue?) he asked.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.