Reluctance of Rahul, Tejashwi to condemn abuses hurled at PM regrettable: Chirag

Patna, Sep 4 (PTI) Union minister Chirag Paswan on Thursday lashed out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and RJD's Tejashwi Yadav for their “reluctance” to express regret over alleged abuses hurled at Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ in Bihar.

Talking to reporters here, the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) president asserted that "silence" over the issue was tantamount to condonation of the vile behaviour, which would have "consequences" in the upcoming assembly polls.

"The Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha (Gandhi) has been using disrespectful language for the PM, who is many years his senior. His own behaviour has emboldened his supporters," said Paswan, when asked about last week's incident at Darbhanga.

"What is regrettable is the reluctance, on the part of Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav to openly condemn the incident. Their silence would be seen as a tacit approval," he claimed.

Alleged expletives were screamed into the microphone from a podium on the outskirts of Darbhanga, on a day the ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ had passed through the north Bihar town.

The accused, a 25-year-old local resident, has been arrested.

The Congress-led INDIA bloc has maintained that he was not a member of any of the constituent parties.

Paswan also claimed that last year, “abusive language was used for my mother and sisters in presence of Tejashwi Yadav, who kept silent and his party suffered consequences in the Lok Sabha polls”.

“The same will happen in the assembly elections (in Bihar)," the Hajipur MP asserted.

"The NDA stood united during the Bihar bandh called in protest against the incident. Immediately after the bandh, my party's rally is scheduled in Muzaffarpur where I will again highlight the insult to the prime minister and his respected late mother," he added. PTI NAC RBT