ANI file photo
A day before the first phase of the Bihar elections, Union Minister and JD(U) leader Rajiv Ranjan, also known as Lalan Singh, responded to criticism over his remark during a roadshow for party candidate Anant Singh on Wednesday.He said that only a part of the video had gone viral and that it was being shared out of context.”That is only one chunk of the video, it is not the complete video. People should watch the complete video. If an FIR has been registered, the complete video will be investigated. I will be questioned and I will answer. The entire thing is recorded. RJD’s people are habitual of pulling up one chunk, making it viral, tweeting and misleading…” Singh was quoted as saying by ANI. Addressing the video, which has now gone viral, Singh said that in full context, he was urging villagers to stand up to local leaders who intimidate the poor.He added that such leaders should be escorted to the polling booth to vote and then kept “inside their houses.””If someone sees the complete video, they would find RJD’s tweet misleading. An RJD leader lives in the village from where this video has come up. He threatens people and scares them into not going to booths. I said that if leaders threaten and scare the poor, people of village should corner and lock them up. If they (such leaders) want to go and vote, take them to polling booth and after that force them to stay inside their houses,” Singh added. The Union Minister further stressed that he would respect the Election Commission of India’s decision if an FIR is filed under its instructions.”There is rule of law in Nitish Kumar’s rule. All of us respect law. So, if an FIR has been lodged against me on the instructions of EC, I respect it,” Singh said. He added that protecting and encouraging “poor” voters was his aim, and pointed to similar intimidation in wards 15–27 of Mokama Nagar Parishad.”Nobody can threaten the poor and get their votes. This is my complete statement from the rally in Shivnar. The same day, at the election office in Mokama, I told the workers that in wards number 15-27 under Mokama Nagar Parishad, people are threatening the poor for their votes…The poor are our voters, voters of Nitish Kumar. Will we not protect and encourage our voters?” Singh said. Earlier, a video of Lalan Singh’s campaign circulated widely on social media, showing him allegedly instructing supporters to stop opposition leaders and candidates from leaving their homes to vote, even suggesting they be escorted to the polling booth to cast their votes.This comes amid an FIR being filed against Singh on Tuesday over a controversial statement he made while campaigning for JD(U) candidate Anant Singh in Mokama on Monday.This incident adds to tensions around Anant Singh, a don-turned-politician and former MLA seeking to reclaim the Mokama seat. Singh and his associates, Manikant Thakur and Ranjeet Ram, were arrested in connection with the murder of Dularchand Yadav, a supporter of Jan Suraaj candidate Piyush Priyadarshi.During a campaign event, Lalan Singh defended Anant Singh, calling the murder a “conspiracy” and saying he had cooperated with the police.
