Farmers Movement Archive

Now, BJP MLA demands a room in Bihar assembly for Hanuman Chalisa prayer

PATNA: The allotment of a room for offering namaz in the Jharkhand legislative assembly had its ripple effect in Bihar as BJP MLA from Bisfi, Hari Bhushan Thakur Bachol, on Tuesday demanded a similar arrangement on the state assembly premises for chanting the Hanuman Chalisa prayer or reading the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita by the Hindu MLAs. “Yes, I have requested for the allotment of a separate room on the premises of the (Bihar) assembly to hold Hanuman Chalisa prayer or to read the Gita by the willing Hindu MLAs in the House,” Bachol said. “In this regard, I called on the Speaker, Vijay Kumar Sinha, on Tuesday and made my demand orally. I have not made any written request in this regard, though,” he said and added that the Speaker heard his plea, but did not concede anything. Incidentally, the Jharkhand assembly Speaker has allotted a separate room on the newly-built premises for holding namaz by Muslim lawmakers on Fridays. The BJP MLAs of Jharkhand have protested against the decision of their Speaker and, alternatively, have sought the allotment of a separate room for holding the Hanuman Chalisa prayer. Curiously, the Jharkhand assembly issue had its echo in the Uttar Pradesh (UP) House, too, where Samajwadi Party MLA Irfan Solanki on Tuesday, in a written application to the Speaker, has also sought the allotment of a separate room on the House premises for namaz. The assembly elections are due in seven states, including UP, next year. The central BJP and its state unit in UP have been working in tandem devising plans to outwit the opposition parties during the assembly elections. Bachol said what had happened in the Jharkhand House was akin to “appeasement” of the Muslims. “India is a secular country, meaning all religions are equal. Our Constitution also says that constitutional institutions should treat all religions equally and there should not be discrimination against any religion,” Bachol said. Reacting to the statement of Bachol, RJD spokesman Mrityunjay Tiwari told mediapersons that the BJP has a habit of distracting people from the burning issues facing people, like price rise, controversial farm Bills, raging unemployment, tottering national economy and the national monetization pipeline (NMP) announced by the Centre to sell government assets and public sector undertakings (PSUs) to private players. “We will allot them a room to hold the Hanuman Chalisa prayer, if they really need it,” Tiwari said.

The Times of India

2021-09-08

Patna