David Headley’s revelations regarding Ishrat Jahan ignited a fresh political row in Bihar, with leaders of the NDA trying to corner chief minister Nitish Kumar and RJD chief Lalu Yadav and demanding a
David Headley’s revelations regarding Ishrat Jahan ignited a fresh political row in Bihar, with leaders of the NDA trying to corner chief minister Nitish Kumar and RJD chief Lalu Yadav and demanding a public apology from them for addressing her as “daughter of Bihar”.
While referring to Headley’s statement on Ishrat, the BJP on Thursday mounted an attack on the Grand Secular Alliance government accusing them for playing with national security by defending her after she was killed in an encounter in Gujarat in 2004.
“Nitish and Lalu once claimed Ishrat Jahan as Bihar’s daughter and condemned the Gujarat government for her encounter. Now Nitish should react,” senior BJP leader and former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi tweeted.
Earlier, Union minister and BJP leader Giriraj Singh slammed the chief minister and his other colleagues for doing “vote-bank politics” after Ishrat was killed in the encounter. He said, “Nitish must come forward and apologise after this revelation.”
Union minister Ashwini Choubey demanded the resignation of Mr Kumar, saying that “after the truth was revealed by Headley, Nitish must resign for defending her”.
The JD(U) and other anti-BJP forces had made her encounter an issue during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and had criticised the Gujarat government, terming her as “Bihar ki beti (daughter of Bihar)”.
Ishrat was born in Bihar and had spent her childhood in Patna and Munger districts. Her parents later shifted to Mumbai after her father’s business failed to pick up in Bihar.
