Told kids to settle abroad, atmosphere not good here: RJD leader

The Bharatiya Janata Party's Bihar unit on Thursday lashed out at Rashtriya Janata Dal principal national general secretary Abdul Bari Siddiqui for advising his children to settle abroad, apparently referring to bias against Muslims in the country.

A short video clip of Siddiqui's speech, at a function last week, has gone viral on social media.

The veteran leader can be heard saying "I wish to cite a personal example to highlight the country's atmosphere (desh ka jo mahaul hai). I have a son who is studying at Harvard and a daughter who is a London School of Economics pass out. I have told them to find jobs abroad and, if possible, even take foreign citizenships".

A former state minister, Siddiqui can be heard adding "when my children reacted with disbelief, pointing out that I was still living here (in India) I told them they will not be able to cope".

Though the RJD leader cannot be heard making a direct reference to Muslims and their condition under the BJP rule, the saffron party took the bait.

"Siddiqui's remarks are anti-India. If he is feeling so stifled, he should give up the privileges he enjoys here as a political leader and move to Pakistan. Nobody will stop him", fumed state BJP spokesman Nikhil Anand.

"Siddiqui is a close aide of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad and his utterances are reflective of his party's culture of Muslim appeasement", added the BJP leader.