india

Updated: Jun 18, 2020 07:47 IST

Union Minister Giriraj Singh, known to often court controversy with his sharp remarks, tweeted a new slogan on Tuesday apparently referring to Pakistan occupied Kashmir. This comes at a time when India, Pakistan ties are tense over the scrapping of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and invited criticism from the Opposition.

“Jai Kashmir, Jai Bharat… Abki baar us paar”, tweeted the lawmaker from Begusarai. This roughly translates into, “this time, let’s go that side”.

Singh’s tweet triggered a political slugfest with the BJP-JD(U) supporting him and the Opposition daring him to practice what he preached. JD(U) leader Rajiv Ranjan said: “This is the mood right now, if Pakistan does not mend its ways action should be taken. If Kashmir is ours, PoK is also ours…”

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Vijay Prakash dared Giriraj Singh to act on his words. “Why only Pakistan, take action against China too”, he said. Congress leader Premchand Mishra asked:”Who is stopping you… Indira Gandhi had entered Lahore in broad daylight.”

Earlier, speaking during the debate on Article 370, home minister Amit Shah had said: “Kashmir is an integral part of India. I want to make it absolutely clear that every single time we say Jammu and Kashmir, it includes Pak-Occupied Kashmir (including Gilgit-Baltistan) as well as Aksai Chin. Let there be no doubt over it. Entire Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of the Union of India,” the Home Minister said.

Last week, defence minister Rajnath Singh also hit out at Pakistan and said that if talks are held between New Delhi and Islamabad it would only be on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

This is not the first time Giriraj Singh, minister of animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries, has invited criticism over his remarks. During the parliamentary elections, he had demanded a ban on green flags, which he said, “tend to create hatred in the society and gives one a feeling of being in Pakistan.” This had caused huge embarrassment to BJP’s alliance partner, JD(U), as both JD(U) and the main opposition party, RJD, have green flags.

If that was not enough, he triggered another row during the Lok Sabha polls when during an election meeting he said, “Muslims will have to say Vande Mataram if they need three yards of land for a graveyard.” A comment that had angered key ally JD(U) which in turn asked the Election Commission (EC) to take cognizance of his comments.

Singh has been known for his controversial remarks in the past too. Only last year, he had embarrassed the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government in Bihar, when he demanded renaming Bakhtiarpur town, where Nitish Kumar was born. The minister also wanted the name of Akbarpur in his current Lok Sabha constituency of Nawada changed, saying it was named after Mughal emperor Akbar.