RJD's Tejashwi Yadav meets boy alleging assault over PM Modi
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav met a 12-year-old boy who claims he was assaulted for filming a PM Modi birthday event in Patna; the BJP has dismissed the
Opposition leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav met a 12-year-old boy in Patna on Saturday. The boy alleges he was assaulted by youths after he filmed mustard-oil lamps lit for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's birthday event on September 17.
Yadav, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader, accused supporters of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of manhandling the child. He further alleged that police pressured the boy to change his statement. The BJP has rejected these charges, calling the video of the allegations false and malicious.
Details of the alleged assault
In a video of their interaction, the boy described his ordeal to Yadav. He said he was assaulted at the site after filming what he called the 'wastefulness' of using mustard oil for lamps. "The kind of oil consumed in lighting diyas would have enough for us to make puris for my entire village," the boy told the opposition leader. He claimed he was later taken off a railing by the administration.
The boy is a standard five student from a Patna locality. He told Yadav that academic activities in his village have been affected by recent floods.
Allegations of police pressure
Tejashwi Yadav leveled serious accusations against the police. He claimed officers pressured the boy to state that those who manhandled him were his friends and that they work for the BJP together. Police even intimidated the boy to give a statement that there was no assault or otherwise, he would have to spend a night in the police station, Yadav said.
The RJD leader framed the incident as symptomatic of a broader situation. This is the situation in Bihar where a 12 year old boy is assaulted by BJP sponsored goons and even locked up in police station for just making a video, he stated.
Yadav assured the boy that action would be taken. "We will take action and ensure that those involved in the incident are punished," he said.
BJP's rejection of the claims
The BJP has firmly denied all allegations. State spokesperson Prem Ranjan Patel said the video was fabricated with intent to defame the party. He advised the opposition leader to behave more maturely instead of seeking publicity from such videos.
Patel suggested Yadav should focus on flood-affected areas, including his own constituency. He accused the RJD leader of spending only a few hours there for a photo opportunity while doing little for victims. The BJP spokesperson attributed the allegations to political anxiety. The opposition leader is making all baseless allegations as he is unnerved with the popularity of our Prime Minister and the BJP, Patel said.
The incident remains a point of contention between Bihar's main opposition party and the ruling BJP, with conflicting accounts from the involved parties.
