RJD's Jagdanand Singh calls RSS 'Taliban of India'; BJP hits back with 'Hitler Singh' jibe

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Jagdanand Singh, on Wednesday, called Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) the 'Taliban of India'. Elaborating on his point, the close aide of RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, asserted that the Taliban was not a name but a culture in Afghanistan, as is RSS in India. He concluded, "In India, RSS is Talibani". 

Addressing RJD members in the party's Patna office, Jagdanand Singh said, "They cut beards of people and beat men selling bangles, fixing flat tires”, referring to the purported communal incidents that were reported in Uttar Pradesh. The RJD leader then pointed the similarity between the Taliban, and the RSS in terms of spreading communal violence in India. 

"The Taliban is known for spreading communal hatred in Afghanistan, and the RSS is doing the same in India," he asserted. Having said that, he added that 'India, just like Afghanistan, was 'heading towards anarchy'. 

BJP retaliates with 'Hitler Singh' jibe

Taking cognizance of the statement, Bihar's BJP unit reacted sharply. BJP spokesman Arvind Singh, while speaking to a leading daily, said, "His (Jagdanand Singh) statement is like that of Hitler Singh." The statement was an indirect reference to Lalu Prasad Yadav's elder son, Tej Pratap's recent statement, in which he had said that the senior RJD leader 'goes everywhere and speaks like Hitler'.

It is pertinent to point out here that after the statement by Tej Pratap, Jagdanand Singh, known for his integrity and self-respect, had resigned from the party President's post. But after the intervention of Lalu Prasad Yadav and Tejashwi, he took back his resignation.  

After rejoining office, out of revenge or otherwise, Jagdanand Singh nominated Gagan Kumar as president of RJD in Chhatra, replacing Aakash Yadav, a close aide of Tej Pratap. This miffed Tej Pratap, who took to the job of convincing father Lalu Yadav, and younger brother Tejashwi for Jagdanand Singh's ouster from the post of Bihar's RJD President. He failed and in fact got a warning to 'behave, and be a little more disciplined'.