Giriraj targets NDA leaders with snide 'iftaar' tweet

Union minister Giriraj Singh on Tuesday mocked his NDA colleagues for attending 'iftaar' parties, drawing sharp reactions from them that prompted BJP president Amit Shah to rebuke the fiery Hindutva leader and ask him to refrain from making such comments.

Shah stepped in to douse the fire in the ruling coalition after Singh's tweet riled BJP's key allies from Bihar, including Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U) and Dalit leader Ram Vilas Paswan's LJP.

Singh posted four pictures of Bihar NDA leaders, including Kumar and Paswan, attending 'iftaar' parties and put out this snide tweet.

"How beautiful would the picture have emerged, had phalahaar (a fruit feast) been organised during Navaratra with the same fervour with splendid photographs taken. Why do we lag behind in observance of our own karm-dharm (religious customs) in public, while staying ahead in pretension," he tweeted in Hindi.

A known detractor of Kumar since the days when he served in the state cabinet under him, Singh appeared to have aimed his barb specifically at the chief minister as all photographs featured him wearing a skullcap and a namaz kerchief covering his shoulders.

Senior Bihar BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi was also seen in one of the pictures.

The photographs were of iftaar parties hosted by Lok Janshakti Party president Paswan and opposition leader Jitan Ram Manjhi in Patna.

The Begusarai MP's remarks met with nonchalance from Kumar, who told journalists: "He indulges in such antics so that you people make him newsy."
Lashing out at Singh, JD(U) leader and state minister Ashok Chowdhury said, "Had anybody stopped Giriraj from arranging phalahaar during Navaratra?"