On September 20, 2025, a First Information Report (FIR) was filed at Gandhi Maidan Police Station in Patna against Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav and RJD MLA Mukesh Kumar Roshan for alleged offensive remarks made against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his late mother, Heeraben Modi, during a public rally in Vaishali as part of the Bihar Adhikar Yatra. The complaint, lodged by BJP state executive committee member Krishna Singh Kallu, accuses RJD supporters of using derogatory and abusive language from the rally stage, with Tejashwi allegedly present but failing to intervene.
Details of the Incident
- Allegations: Krishna Singh Kallu claimed that during the Bihar Adhikar Yatra rally in Vaishali, RJD supporters, in Tejashwi’s presence, used “highly objectionable and indecent” language against PM Modi and his late mother. The FIR also alleges inflammatory sloganeering against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Kallu described the act as a “grave sin” and an insult to Bihar’s culture and democratic values, demanding stringent legal action.
- BJP’s Reaction: BJP leaders, including Union Minister Chirag Paswan and state president Dilip Jaiswal, condemned the remarks as a new low in politics. On X, BJP’s Amit Malviya posted at 22:05 IST on September 20, stating, “Once again, extremely offensive words were used for PM Modi’s mother at an RJD rally in Patepur, with Tejashwi present but not stopping his supporters.” Paswan called the language a stain on Indian politics and an attack on the sanctity of motherhood.
- RJD’s Defense: RJD spokesperson Chitranjan Gagan dismissed the FIR as a BJP-orchestrated tactic to divert attention from the “unprecedented support” for Tejashwi’s yatra, which has covered 10 districts to highlight unemployment, women’s safety, and governance issues. Gagan claimed the BJP is rattled by the yatra’s success and resorting to “conspiracies” to distract from real issues like jobs and education.
Context and Political Fallout
The FIR follows a similar controversy during the Congress-led Voter Adhikar Yatra in Darbhanga on August 27, where a Congress worker allegedly abused PM Modi and his mother, leading to an FIR against Rahul Gandhi and the arrest of the accused, Mohammad Rizvi, who was sent to 14-day judicial custody. PM Modi, addressing the earlier incident on September 2, called it an insult to all mothers and sisters, accusing the RJD-Congress alliance of anti-woman sentiments.
Tejashwi, in response to the August incident, condemned abusive language but accused Modi of hypocrisy, citing past remarks like “50 crore girlfriend” and “jersey cow.” He reiterated on September 14 that the BJP uses such controversies to divert from governance failures, calling Modi’s rallies a “rain of slogans.” The BJP, in turn, accused the RJD-Congress of disrespecting Bihar by associating with leaders like Tamil Nadu CM M.K. Stalin, whom they claim insulted Biharis.
Legal and Political Implications
The FIR against Tejashwi and Mukesh Kumar Roshan, filed under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for defamation and public mischief, escalates tensions ahead of the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections. The BJP has leveraged the issue to rally its base, with the NDA women’s wing staging a five-hour Bihar bandh on September 4 over the earlier Darbhanga incident. Tejashwi’s yatra, covering 60 assembly seats, aims to challenge the NDA’s 20-year rule by focusing on education, healthcare, and jobs, but repeated FIRs— including one in Shahjahanpur and Maharashtra for calling Modi a “vote thief”—could hamper his campaign.
Why It Matters
The controversy underscores the deepening divide between the BJP-led NDA and the RJD-Congress-led INDIA bloc in poll-bound Bihar. The FIR, combined with BJP’s aggressive protests, aims to paint the opposition as disrespectful to cultural values, while RJD accuses the ruling alliance of manufacturing outrage to deflect from governance failures. With Bihar’s political landscape heating up, such incidents risk polarizing voters further, impacting the narrative ahead of the elections.
