Patna: The viral images of Prime Minister Narendra Modi feeding a peacock have reopened a controversy in poll-bound Bihar, with RJD leaders accusing the BJP of “double standards”.
भोर भयो, बिन शोर,
मन मोर, भयो विभोर,
रग-रग है रंगा, नीला भूरा श्याम सुहाना,
मनमोहक, मोर निराला।रंग है, पर राग नहीं,
विराग का विश्वास यही,
न चाह, न वाह, न आह,
गूँजे घर-घर आज भी गान,
जिये तो मुरली के साथ
जाये तो मुरलीधर के ताज। pic.twitter.com/Dm0Ie9bMvF— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 23, 2020
“I recall that around three years ago when two peacocks were brought to the official residence of Laluji, the BJP demanded action against him under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, as peacocks were endangered birds and not allowed to be kept as pets,” said Shyam Rajak, who recently defected to the RJD from the JD(U). “The Act has been passed by Indian parliament and it is the duty of everyone, particularly the PM, to enforce it.”
The RJD also dubbed the PM’s photo as propaganda.
“I find the photograph aesthetically wrong,” said RJD MP Manoj Jha. “Our economy is bleeding. Around 1,000 people are dying due to Covid-19 and there are around 70,000 fresh cases every day. At such a time, the PM has posted the photograph on social media. It’s like the Roman emperors laughing at the miseries of the people.”
The controversy
In February 2017, when the Grand Alliance government was intact, Lalu’s eldest son Tej Pratap headed the state forest and environment department among other portfolios. It was at the time that a pair of peacocks were released by the state forest department officials at Lalu Prasad’s official residence — 10 Circular Road, Patna.
RJD sources said Lalu had asked for peacocks on the advice of a godman who said the peacocks would bring luck.
State BJP leaders, however, created a stir, claiming that it was a gross violation of the Wildlife Protection Act, and demanded action. The forest department officials had defended the move saying they planned to release 100 peacocks in the new Patna area where the residences of the chief minister, the governor and other VVIPs are located. They had said the move had ecological justifications as the peacocks eat insects.
Lalu, however, developed cold feet. Just two days after the peacocks were brought to his residence, he told journalists that they flew away.
Informed sources said the peacocks were returned to the Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park. “That was the time when reports of Bollywood actor Salman Khan being prosecuted for killing black bucks was in the news and Laluji thought it wise not to escalate the controversy,” recalled a former RJD minister, who did not wish to be identified. “But what was true for Laluji should also be true for PM Modi.”
On the backfoot, the state BJP said both instances aren’t alike. “Laluji kept the peacocks caged. PM Narendra Modi keeps the peacocks on a huge campus where they freely roam around. The peacocks are attached to the PM and come to him when he is there because he loves wildlife and nature,” state BJP spokesperson Rajni Ranjan Patel said.
He also pointed out that how there are several localities in Delhi, including JNU, where peacocks can be seen freely roaming around in the open.
Also read: ‘It’s a joke, discourages voting’ — Bihar MLAs upset by EC’s poll guidelines amid Covid