Union minister Giriraj Singh meets Bihar communal clashes accused in Nawada jail day after Jayant Sinha's garland gaffe

Union minister Giriraj Singh on Saturday met Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad activists who are accused of rioting and are currently lodged in Bihar’s Nawada jail, media reports said. The incident comes a day after junior minister for civil aviation,  Jayant Sinha, sparked a political row  by felicitating the eight men convicted for lynching  a meat trader in Madhya Pradesh’s Ramgarh last year. [caption id=“attachment_2628724” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Union minister Giriraj Singh. PTI[/caption] On Saturday, Singh also met the family of a man accused of spreading communal tension in Bihar in March and expressed grief over the “activists” being “framed”, News 18 reported. He claimed that the accused have always maintained peace in their region. According to DNA, the Union minister said: “It is very saddening to see that the government feels that communal harmony will be there only if they suppress Hindus. I request the state government and the society to let go of this kind of attitude.” Singh added that he wants social harmony, not arrests, and accused the Bihar government of wanting to suppress Hindus for communal harmony. In March, communal tension had gripped the town of Nawada after a religious idol was found damaged. Nawada District Magistrate Kaushal Kumar had said that as soon as the news spread, a protest erupted, leading to violent clashes between two communities. With inputs from PTI