PM Modi 'abused' in Bihar: Amit Shah asks Rahul Gandhi to ‘apologise’; BJP-Congress workers clash | What happened?

Amit Shah demands Rahul Gandhi's apology for alleged abusive remarks about PM Modi and his late mother during Congress's 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' in Bihar.

Union home minister Amit Shah on Friday asked Rahul Gandhi to apologise for the alleged abusive language used against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his late mother during Congress's 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' in Bihar's Darbhanga. Amit Shah's sharp attack comes even as the Bihar Police arrested the accused earlier on Friday.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Bihar's Motihari, during the 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' on Thursday. (HT Photo)

“Rahul Gandhi should apologise for abuses hurled at the prime minister, his late mother,” said Amit Shah in Guwahati, adding that the Congress leader's politics “touched the lowest level with his 'Ghuspetiya Bachao Yatra' in Bihar”.

The incident has snowballed into a massive political controversy in poll-bound Bihar as the Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress workers clashed in Patna on Friday.

What is the issue?

• A purported video showed a person using a Hindi expletive against PM Narendra Modi from a dais raised during the yatra in Darbhanga town, from where Rahul Gandhi, her sister Priyanka Vadra and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav had left for Muzaffarpur on motorcycles on Wednesday.
• The accused, identified as Mohammad Rizvi alias Raza (20), was arrested from Singhwara locality of Darbhanga town.
• A case was registered against him and others on the basis of a complaint filed by the BJP’s Darbhanga district president Aditya Narayan Choudhary.

Strong reactions

• Inaugurating the newly constructed Brahmaputra wing of the Raj Bhawan in Guwahati, Amit Shah said, “Rahul Gandhi should apologise if he has any shame left. The nation is watching him and his party in disgust."
• “The Ghuspetiya Bachao Yatra is to protect the Congress’s vote bank, but in any democracy, election is its soul. How can a nation be safe if infiltrators are allowed to pollute the system?” Shah asked.
• Shah and other senior BJP leaders had also slammed the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha on Thursday.
• Shah asserted that Modi is feted across the world, and “no amount of abuse can stop the lotus from blooming”.
• Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati expressed concerns over the “declining level of politics” in the country, blaming self-interests of political parties for the trend. She urged all political parties to work in line with their constitutions and principles to safeguard interests of the poor and the common people.
• Mayawati also took strong exception to "derogatory, indecent and unparliamentary" remarks being made publicly about people holding high positions in government and non-government institutions, and politics. She said that such comments tarnish the country's image.