Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over its statewide bandh in Bihar on Thursday, accusing its cadres of “abusing and mistreating” women.
Taking to X, Lalu Yadav questioned whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi had “ordered BJP members to abuse the mothers, sisters and daughters of Bihar and Biharis.”
क्या प्रधानमंत्री मोदी ने भाजपाइयों को आदेश दिया है कि आज पूरे बिहार और बिहारियों की माताओं-बहनों और बेटियों को गाली दो?
गुजराती लोग बिहारियों को इतने हल्के में ना लें? यह बिहार है।
बीजेपी के गुंडे-मव्वाली सम्मानित शिक्षिकाओं, राह चलती महिलाओं, छात्राओं, गर्भवती महिलाओं,…
— Lalu Prasad Yadav (@laluprasadrjd) September 4, 2025
His post read, “Has Prime Minister Modi ordered the BJP members to abuse the mothers, sisters, and daughters of Bihar and Biharis today? Gujaratis shouldn’t underestimate Biharis. This is Bihar. BJP goons and ruffians are abusing respected teachers, women walking on the streets, students, pregnant women, the elderly, and journalists, engaging in physical altercations and mistreating them? Is this appropriate? Shameful!”
‘What About Others’ Mothers?’: Tejashwi Questions NDA’s Outrage, Cites Past Abuses
Meanwhile, RJD leader and Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav, while speaking to Aaj Tak at the ‘Bihar Tak’ event in Patna, said, “Prime Minister’s mother is also a mother and we respect that. Neither I nor anyone else used abusive words. Whoever spoke should face action. It later came to light that this person had links with BJP and JD(U).”
He further accused BJP’s state president of “crocodile tears,” recalling that the same leader once described himself as a “dictionary of abuses.” Tejashwi alleged that BJP MLAs had themselves used abusive language in the Bihar assembly, saying, “A few days ago, Janak Singh hurled abuses at me inside the House. Another leader, Ashutosh Kumar, said our party’s Dalit woman spokesperson should be stripped and paraded naked on the street. He is seen in pictures with the Prime Minister. How many such leaders have faced action?”
The RJD leader went on to add, “What about the insults hurled at Lalu Yadav or at Karpoori Thakur? Was it any less? These very BJP leaders had questioned reservations by abusing Karpoori Ji’s mother. Where were they then? This is not our culture. Neither I nor Rahul Gandhi were even present at that event. The NDA is trying to manufacture an issue. It will make no difference.”
On the BJP’s political gains from such controversies, Tejashwi said, “Hasn’t BJP benefitted every time abuses were hurled at the Prime Minister? Now the PM wants to make politics about this, instead of his work. What about others’ mothers? Are they not mothers?”
Bihar Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary, NDA Leaders Slam RJD, Congress
Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary hit back, accusing the RJD and Congress of disrespecting the Prime Minister’s late mother during the ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ in Darbhanga. Speaking to news agency ANI, he said, “The people of Bihar including mothers and sisters are in pain. They themselves have called for a Bharat Bandh and have got the support of the BJP and the NDA. How can they abuse the PM’s mother? RJD and Congress have abused mothers and sisters, making it a shameful day for democracy.”
Choudhary added, “Political matters are discussed, political ideologies are opposed, individual comments are not allowed.” In another post on X, he wrote, “The disrespectful comment made against the late mother of PM Modi has hurt the soul of the entire nation. This is not just an insult to one mother, but to every mother in the country. Today, the entire country is united for the dignity of the mother and respect for women.”
Union Minister Chirag Paswan also backed the bandh, saying, “The NDA has called for a Bihar bandh until 12 noon today… When my family was abused in front of RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, these people had maintained silence. In the Lok Sabha elections, people had given them a befitting reply, and this time in the assembly elections too, the public will give them a reply.”
#WATCH Patna, Bihar | Union Minister Chirag Paswan says, “The NDA has called for a Bihar bandh until 12 noon today. From the RJD-Congress platform, abusive words were used for Prime Minister Modi and his late mother, hurting sentiments. In protest against this, the NDA has called… pic.twitter.com/6cZXQc7rG3
— ANI (@ANI) September 4, 2025
Mixed Response On Streets For BJP’s Bihar Bandh Call
The five-hour bandh, called by the BJP and supported by its NDA allies JD(U), Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), evoked a mixed response, news agency PTI reported. While some schools shut and fewer vehicles plied in Patna, many shopkeepers kept their businesses open. Police said no major incidents were reported, though RJD and Congress alleged that BJP workers harassed ordinary citizens, including women, at railway stations, hospitals and workplaces.
Senior BJP leaders, including MP Ravi Shankar Prasad, joined protests in Patna, asserting, “Bihar will not tolerate the insult to Modi ji’s late mother. Their shamelessness is such that not a single senior Congress leader has apologised. People of Bihar will never forget those who hurled abuse at the deceased mother of the PM.”
JD(U) leader and minister Ashok Choudhary described the bandh as symbolic, stressing, “Democracy is all about dialogue, and foul language should not be used even for opponents. This must be ensured at public functions.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his first remarks on 2 September, had said he was “deeply pained” but added, “My late mother had nothing to do with politics, so what was her fault; why was she abused? I may forgive them for once, but the people of this country have never brooked any insult to one’s mother… It is now the duty of every son of Bihar to hold the RJD-Congress combine accountable.”
The controversy comes just weeks ahead of the Bihar assembly polls, likely in October or November, making the row a flashpoint in the fierce battle between the NDA and the Mahagathbandhan.
