Union minister Giriraj Singh allegedly attacked in Bihar's Begusarai: ‘Just because he had beard...’

Union minister and firebrand BJP leader Giriraj Singh was allegedly attacked on Saturday during a junta darbar in Bihar's Begusarai district.

The attacker, identified as Mohammad Sahjadu Zaman alias Saiky, tried to slap the minister while he was walking down the stage during the junta darbar, a public outreach program where citizens can voice their grievances.

When the program concluded, some people including Saiky tried to submit a memorandum but Giriraj allegedly said, “I am not your Member of Parliament,” according to the people familiar with the matter.

This irked them, who raised slogans against Singh and, in the meantime, Saiky attempted to slap the minister but security personnel caught him and handed him over to the local police.

"One person has been arrested. The Union Minister (Giriraj Singh) had a program in the Ballia subdivision this afternoon, during which a person behaved indecently. The policemen present in the security cordon caught him and further action is underway," Begusarai Superintendent of Police said.

"He was caught behaving indecently and trying to break the security cordon... He is a resident of Ballia and is said to be a ward councillor," he added.

Singh said the attacker – who has since been taken into custody – stormed the event, grabbed the microphone, and shouted slogans against the minister, including "murdabad" (down with).

According to Singh, the man’s actions appeared to be an attempt to assault him.

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“In ‘junta darbar’, a person forcefully took the mic and spoke something. It appeared that he wanted to attack me. He also raised ‘murdabad’ slogans,” the BJP leader said.

He claimed that political leaders like Tejashwi Yadav of the rival Rashtriya Janata Dal and Akhilesh Yadav of Samajwadi Party might support the attacker because of his appearance.

“Unfortunately, just because he (the attacker) had a beard, today Tejashwi Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav will support him. However, I am not afraid of such things and I will raise my voice against anyone trying to break communal harmony in Ballia, Begusarai and other nearby areas,” Singh said.

Giriraj Singh on ‘namaz break’ row

Giriraj Singh also welcomed the recent decision by the Assam Legislative Assembly to abolish the "Friday namaz break," a policy in place since the British era.

Speaking to media persons in his constituency, Singh said, “I thank the Speaker of the assembly in Assam as well as the government of the state for taking this step. It is essential to have uniformity in law, and no preferential treatment should be given to any religious community,”

The abolition of the Friday namaz break, which allowed Muslim legislators to take a two-hour recess for prayers, has been a topic of heated debate, especially among members of the INDIA bloc, a coalition of opposition parties.

Known for his Hindutva hardline stance, Singh was quick to criticise leaders like Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav, and Tejashwi Yadav, accusing them of pandering to Muslim voters.

Leaders like Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav, and Tejashwi Yadav are champions of the Muslim vote bank. If they had their way, there would be holidays across the country every Friday," Singh said.

(With inputs from Avinash Kumar in Patna)