‘Islamic Republic of Bihar’: BJP slams CM Nitish for 'appeasing' Muslims as Hindu holidays missing in school calendar

In a scathing attack on Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over “cutting down” the number of holidays for the state’s schools during Hindu festivals and increasing it for Muslim festivals, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday slammed Bihar CM for appeasing Muslims. Calling him  the “chief of appeasement”, Union minister Ashwini Choubey claimed that the “anti-Hindu face” of the grand alliance has come to the fore again, alleging that the Bihar government “hates Sanatan for vote bank.” “Once again the anti-Hindu face of the uncle-nephew government came to the fore. On one hand, holidays for Muslim festivals are being extended in schools, while holidays for Hindu festivals are being abolished,” Choubey said in a social media post on X. “Shame on the government that hates Sanatan for vote bank.”

"तुष्टिकरण के सरदार-बिहार के कुर्सी कुमार"

एकबार फिर चाचा-भतीजे की सरकार का हिंदू विरोधी चेहरा सामने आया। एक तरफ स्कूलों में मुस्लिम पर्व की छुट्टी बढ़ाई जा रही हैं,वहीं हिंदु त्योहारों में छुट्टियां खत्म की जा रही हैं।

लानत है वोटबैंक के लिए सनातन से घृणा करने वाली सरकार को। pic.twitter.com/3yX6WAeGnx

— Ashwini Kr. Choubey (@AshwiniKChoubey) November 27, 2023

Minister of Panchayati Raj Giriraj Singh claimed that Nitish Kumar has issued a “Tughlak Farman” for the third time.

VIDEO | "Does Bihar CM Nitish Kumar want to form Islamic Republic of Bihar?" says Union minister and BJP leader @girirajsinghbjp on reports of #Bihar government's decision to reduce the number of holidays for the state’s schools during Hindu festivals and increasing it for Muslim… pic.twitter.com/YdGOWjk9hn

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) November 28, 2023

“The way Lalu Yadav and the Nitish government are attacking Hindus, in the future they will be known as Mohammad Nitish and Mohammad Lalu,” he said in a video message posted on his social media platform X.

इस्लामिक रिपब्लिक ऑफ़ बिहार।

नीतीश और लालू सरकार ने स्कूलों में मुस्लिम पर्व की छुट्टी बढ़ाई, हिंदु त्योहारों में छुट्टी की ख़त्म। pic.twitter.com/ngjc4qVbuS

— Shandilya Giriraj Singh (@girirajsinghbjp) November 27, 2023

Joining his colleague, BJP MP Sushil Modi said while speaking to ANI, “The Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government has shown an anti-Hindu face and taken a decision to hurt the sentiments of the Hindus…The holidays for Hindu festivals have been selectively slashed, while holidays for Muslim festivals have been increased.” According to reports, the Bihar education department on Monday issued the holiday calendar for 2024 and said the chart has been created to ensure at least 220 teaching days under the Right to Education. The holiday calendar for the year 2024 has seen wholesale change, with the number of summer vacation days increasing from 20 to 30. While the holidays for Hartalika Teej and Jitiya have been done away with, the education department has increased the holidays for Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha (Bakrid) to three days each, as per reports.