Bihar: Leaders of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) have strongly criticized the registration of an FIR against party leader and former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav in Maharashtra, terming it politically motivated and aimed at suppressing opposition voices.
The FIR, lodged at Gadchiroli Police Station, pertains to alleged objectionable posts and defamatory content about Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the social media platform X. BJP MLA Milind Ramji Narote had filed the complaint on Friday. The FIR cites sections 196(1)(a)(b), 356(2)(3), 352, and 353(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The posts reportedly targeted PM Modi’s visit to Gaya Ji district in Bihar, where the Prime Minister inaugurated and laid the foundation of development projects worth ₹13,000 crore for the state.
Reacting to the FIR, Sanjay Yadav of RJD questioned the BJP’s actions: “What kind of words did he (Tejashwi Yadav) use? Who promised to give Rs 15 lakh in every citizen’s bank account? Who promised to deliver 2 crore jobs every year? Who promised to give a special package and special status to Bihar? Who promised to develop Bihar?… If reminding him about his promises to Bihar, you should file an FIR in every district of the country… Why file an FIR by just one MLA?”
RJD spokesperson Shakti Singh Yadav accused the BJP of double standards: “Did the Election Commission take any action or file an FIR against PM Modi for hate speech… However, this does happen with opposition people frequently. But who is scared of this? When the government becomes fearful of the anger of the common people, it will seek support from the court and police. But we will not be scared of this. We will challenge them face-to-face. PM Modi is so scared of this,” he said.
Tejashwi Yadav himself, speaking to reporters in Katihar, asserted that he is “not scared” of the FIR: “Who is scared of an FIR? Saying the word ‘jumla’ has also become a crime… They fear the truth… We are not scared of any FIR and we speak the truth…”
