PATNA: As RSS chief Mohan Bhagawat began his ten-day tour of Bihar on Monday, the Opposition RJD and Congress saw in it an effort to inject communalism into the state and accused Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of helping the Sangh Parivar turn Bihar into “another Nagpur”.
Bhagawat, who had earlier come on a two-day tour of Bihar on January 23, plans to visit various places in Muzaffarpur district during the present extended tour. He will also hold two meetings with RSS and BJP functionaries in Muzaffarpur and Patna on February 11 and 12, said sources. His visit has injected fresh enthusiasm among BJP leaders and workers in the state.
BJP leaders said Bhagwat’s present tour aims at holding discussions with farmers and functionaries of agriculture-related organisations on issues such as raising agricultural productivity, the need for cow protection and boosting the use of organic fertilizer. Although they denied that his visit had anything to do with politics, RJD and Congress leaders saw a “well-thought conspiracy” and targeted Nitish Kumar.
“It is no secret that RSS is an organisation that seeks to implement Manuvaad (the principles of Manu). These frequent visits by Mohan Bhagwat are a part of Sangh Parivar’s well-thought conspiracy,” said RJD national vice-president Shivanand Tiwari. “The Bihar government has started kneeling down to RSS’s whims. Soon RSS will approve Nitish Kumar’s governance agenda. It is our duty to warn the people,” he added.
Senior Congress leader Prem Chandra Mishra said: “Bhagawat’s frequent visits appear aimed at pushing Bihar into the fire of communalism. A ten-day tour means laying the ground to turn Bihar into another Nagpur. Nitish Kumar is now facilitating this communal agenda”.
“People opposing the RSS chief’s visit are steeped in narrow thinking and engaged in vote-bank politics. They have been punished by the people in poll after polls, but they still refuse to see the shining truth,” said BJP spokesperson Prem Ranjan Patel.
Bhagwat’s Darbhanga tour last month had turned controversial after RSS and BJP workers allegedly painted one of former Bihar chief minister Karpoori Thakur’s statues in Darbhanga “saffron”. Both RSS and BJP had, however, denied the allegations.