Former Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav on Monday dubbed Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma as the ‘Chinese version of Yogi’ after the latter announced the abolition of the ‘Jumma break’, a two-hour break given to Muslims for Friday prayers, also known as ‘namaz’.
Tejashwi Yadav targeted the Assam CM and alleged that Himanta Biswa Sarma ‘deliberately keeps doing things that harass Muslims.’
“BJP people have made Muslim brothers easy targets to spread hatred, attract the attention of Modi-Shah and polarise society,” Tejashwi Yadav posted on X (formerly Twitter).
Yadav said, “People of all religions except the RSS have a hand in the independence of the country. Our Muslim brothers have made sacrifices to liberate the country and as long as we are here, no one can harm them.”
BJP hits back at Tejashwi Yadav
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday hit out at leader Tejashwi Yadav, who dubbed Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma as the “Chinese version of Yogi”, and said such remarks reflect the “racist mindset” of Indian block leaders.
BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala compared Yadav’s comments to those of India Overseas Congress president Sam Pitroda, accusing the India Bloc of having a racist mindset and saying Pitroda’s influence had seeped into Yadav’s mindset.
In a post on Instagram, he said, “Tejashwi Yadav calls Assam CM @HimantaBiswa “Chinese” just because he is Assamese and from Northeast! This shows racist mindset of Indian alliance and seems like Sam Pitroda has taken over Tejashwi’s mind when he makes such racist comments. Do Rahul Gandhi, Gaurav Gogoi support this as “Mohabbat Ki Dukaan”? Will they sever ties with RJD for such unconstitutional, anti-India, racist and hateful comments?”
Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday criticised senior RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav’s remarks about breaking the rules of offering namaz and advised him to practice before preaching.
“Tejashwi Yadav is criticising me, but I want to ask him…is there any such practice in Bihar? You (Yadav) should have implemented the four-hour break when you were the deputy chief minister of Bihar. Practice it before preaching,” Sarma said.
A row has erupted between the India Bloc and the BJP after the Assam government decided to do away with the two-hour Jumma break given to Muslim legislators on Fridays to offer namaz. Assam’s Parliamentary Affairs Minister said the rule will be implemented from the next session.
