Union Minister Piyush Goyal withdraws ‘Bihar’ remark amid row, says ‘No intention to INSULT’

On Tuesday while RJD member Manoj Jha was speaking on inflation in the Upper House, Piyush Goyal had said "Inka bas chale toh desh ko Bihar hi bana de" (if he had his way he would turn the entire country into Bihar). Jha took strong objection to Goyal’s remark and wrote to Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, the Rajya Sabha chairman, demanding an apology from the Union Minister.

New Delhi: Under opposition fire, Union Minister Piyush Goyal has now withdrawn his "demeaning" remarks on Bihar, which triggered protests in Parliament by MPs from the state who demanded an apology from him. "Let me clarify that I have no intention to insult either Bihar or the people of Bihar. If it has hurt anyone`s sentiment, I immediately withdraw that statement," the Union Minister said in Rajya Sabha on Thursday. On Tuesday while RJD member Manoj Jha was speaking on inflation in the Upper House, Goyal had said "Inka bas chale toh desh ko Bihar hi bana de" (if he had his way he would turn the entire country into Bihar). Jha took strong objection to Goyal’s remark and wrote to Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, the Rajya Sabha chairman, demanding an apology from the Union Minister.

In his letter to the Rajya Sabha chairperson, the RJD MP said that Goyal`s comments are "representative of the contemptuous and condescending attitude of the Government of India towards Bihar". "Is the statement made by Piyush Goyal also representative of the contemptuous and condescending attitude of the Government of India toward Bihar? Because it is deeply problematic if the Government singles out one state and terms it a failure," the letter said.

"Bihar has been long ignored by governments at the Center and Biharis have always been treated as second-class citizens. To overcome the long-lived prejudices against our state, Bihar needs national concern and sympathy and not sheer insensitivity towards our situation."

He further urged the BJP leader to "ponder and reflect" the "sneering tone" he had used to speak about Bihar. "Therefore, I demand that Piyush Goyal should immediately make an apology to all the people of Bihar."

Army belongs to the nation & not any political party. Don't hide your diplomatic failure behind Army...Piyush Goyal should apologize for his remark on Bihar. If he doesn't, we'll consider it PM Modi's attempt to insult people of Bihar on directions of BJP chief: RJD MP Manoj Jha pic.twitter.com/DvDsNazmfW — ANI (@ANI) December 22, 2022

Meanwhile, the RJD-JD(U) MPs also staged a protest in front of the Gandhi statue in Parliament on Thursday over the remark made by the Union Minister and the Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha. The MPs also demanded his apology over the same.