Patna, 29 Aug

The issue of alleged abuse hurled at Prime Minister Narendra Modi during Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra' in Bihar spilled out on the streets on Friday when BJP workers stormed the state Congress headquarters, prompting the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha to declare “truth always triumphs”.

While the person who had allegedly screamed expletives into the mic at Darbhanga two days ago was arrested, BJP workers in the state capital staged a march to the Sadaqat Ashram, the BPCC headquarters, and clashed with their counterparts in the Opposition party.

 “We will not tolerate the insult to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Rahul Gandhi, his party and alliance partners will have to apologise,” said state minister Nitin Nabin who had led the procession from the BJP office, situated a couple of kilometres from Sadaqat Ashram.

 Gandhi, who was in Gopalganj, about 120 kms away, and is likely to be in Patna on Monday when the Yatra will conclude, came out with an X post in Hindi, indirectly referring to the clash.

“Violence and falsehood stand no chance before truth and non-violence. Indulge in assault and vandalism to your heart’s content. We will continue our fight to protect truth and the Constitution. Truth always triumphs! (Satyamev Jayate)”, wrote Gandhi.

Congress General Secretary Sachin Pilot, who is accompanying Gandhi, was more blunt.

“Whoever used abusive language deserves condemnation. But it is wrong to associate the Congress and the INDIA bloc with the episode. And the attack on our party’s state headquarters was abominable. We hope the Bihar government takes appropriate action against the accused. It is clear that the BJP is rattled by the success of Voter Adhikar Yatra”, said Pilot.

Addressing the same press conference, RJD national spokesman Manoj Jha said, “We took no time in condemning the incident. But has the BJP ever apologised for many foul remarks made, over the years, by its top leaders, including the Prime Minister himself? They are the followers of Nathuram Godse who assassinated Mahatma Gandhi.”

Today, they could not have fired bullets, so they wielded sticks, Jha said,  and claiming that it was an attempt by the saffron party to make headlines.

“The BJP, which rules the Centre, may get so-called mood of the nation surveys published in its favour, but it knows that if elections are held today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be left looking for options for himself,” he said.

Congress general secretary (organisation) K \C Venugopal wrote on X: “Baffled by the soaring popularity of the Voter Adhikar Yatra, the BJP has once again unleashed its hooligans to intimidate and scare us. The attack on our Bihar PCC office Sadaqat Ashram in Patna, led by a cabinet minister and other BJP leaders, is an act of cowardice.”

The Bihar police must take strict and exemplary action against perpetrators of this crime, he said.

Diksha, Superintendent of Police, Patna Central, said, “Injuries have been sustained by people from both sides. The situation has been brought under control. Further action may be taken after investigation.”

Notably, abusive language was used in Jale assembly segment of Darbhanga on Wednesday when Gandhi, his sister and Congress general secretary Priyanka Vadra and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav had passed through the district on motorcycles.

On Thursday, local Congress leader Mohd Naushad, who has been named in a case lodged at Simri police station by Darbhanga BJP president Adityan Narayan “Manna”, admitted that the video was of a podium he had got erected, but claimed that profane language was used by people not known to him in his absence.

On Friday, Darbhanga police identified the culprit as Mohd Rizvi alias Raja, a 20-year-old resident of Singhwara, and arrested him.

Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Pawan Khera, who heads the party’s media and publicity department, claimed that he suspected the “BJP toolkit” at work.

“We would like to know who had instigated the person to indulge in such behaviour. It is obvious that we would not do anything that would take the focus away from Yatra. The BJP toolkit works by planting such elements in gatherings of opposition parties so that its leaders can later on raise a huge and cry,” Khera said.