‘I am an elephant, will trample BJP’: Anand Mohan in Mahishi

Soon after the Supreme Court on Friday directed the Bihar government to produce the files relating to the controversial April 24 decision granting remission to Anand Mohan, the former MP launched a direct attack on Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in a private function at Mahishi in Bihar’s Saharsa.

“They (BJP) are very upset about my release as they have a fear that this elephant (pointing to himself) will trample and tear their lotus,” said Mohan.

He said, “I will carry on my fight for socialism as long as I am alive.”

Countering his projection as anti–dalit face in Bihar, he said, “Mahishi is the testimony of his love for Dalit as he had won assembly election from this (Mahishi) seat by the margin of 62,000 despite the fact the constituency has just 7,000 people from Rajput community.”

Mohan added, “I need not take a character certificate from Delhi, UP, or Andhra Pradesh. It is Bihar that will decide everything.”

Also Read: NCSC issues notice to Bihar govt on remission of Anand Mohan’s sentence

He was speaking as a chief guest at Mahpura village under the Mahishi assembly constituency after unveiling the statue of late Rajput Mukhiya Indra Dev Singh on Friday evening.

Accompanied by Madhepura Janata Dal-United (JD-U) MP Dinesh Chandra Yadav, besides district JD-U MLAs, the former MP tried to show unity among the grand alliance in Bihar.

Meanwhile, on Friday, the Supreme Court directed the Bihar government to produce the files relating to the controversial April 24 decision granting remission to Mohan and cautioned against politicising the matter or making it a caste issue. The Supreme Court was hearing the petition of the widow of the slain IAS officer and former Gopalganj district magistrate G Krishnaiah.

Krishnaiah’s wife Umadevi had approached the top court challenging an April 10 decision of the state government amending the Bihar Prison Manual by which convicts such as Mohan, suffering life imprisonment for killing a public servant, became eligible for premature release after 14 years imprisonment.

On May 10, Mohan spoke publicly for the first time in Bihar’s Araria after being granted remission by the Bihar government. He had said he was innocent of the murder of the young IAS officer and expressed anguish over the charges being levelled against him.

Political experts believe that Mohan’s attack on the BJP is a well-planned political move by the ruling Bihar government.

“The GA leaders want Anand Mohan to speak more and more at public forums against the BJP,” said a political observer.

“They have a fear that Singh might be back to jail after the next hearing at Supreme Court in July,” he added. The continuous attack on the BJP is believed to give an edge to the grand alliance (GA) in Bihar in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he said.

“Both the National Democratic Alliance and the GA want Anand Mohan’s support in elections but the two have some uneasy fear–and the fear is quite manifest in their faces–the question of Dalit voters,” political observer Prof Naresh Kumar Srivastava said.