First, the Rajput Karni Sena threatened of cutting off Deepika Padukone’s ears and nose over the movie Padmavati. Now, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Bihar chief warns that any one who raises a finger against the prime minister, it should be chopped off.
Speaking at a function on Monday in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar, Nityanand Rai, the top BJP leader in Bihar, said, “Unki or uthne waali ungali ko, uthne waale haath ko…hum sub milke…ya to tod dein, zaroorat pari to kaat dein (Any finger or hand raised against the PM, we should get together to either broken or, if need be, chop it off).”
Each citizen of the country, he said, should be proud that a “garib ka beta” (the son of a poor family) rose from humble beginnings to become prime minister.
Faced with criticism for his apparent threat, Rai said on Tuesday, “Only those who are anti-national and anti-poor will object to the statement. I said PM Modi is the messiah of the poor. Those who raise fingers at the poor and swabhimaani (self-respecting), they are raising it at the prime minister. He destroyed corruption, poverty, black money... What I said is a proverb... I mean that there is no space for such forces in the country.”
The comments come in the wake of the party asking its leader Suraj Pal Amu, who offered Rs 10 crore on the weekend to behead both Padukone, and Padmavati director, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, to apologise publicly.
