- Saturday, April 05, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
RASHTRIYA Janata Dal (RJD), the main opposition party in the eastern Indian state of Bihar, has decided to ban jeans for its leaders and workers, saying it is a party of the poor and have-nots and wearing western clothes would give a wrong message to the people.
The decision came after state RJD president Jagada Nand Singh was furious to see a group of party workers moving around in jeans at a protest programme staged over the weekend against the Narendra Modi government for not holding a caste census, Gulf News reported.
“Ours is the party of the poor, oppressed and the downtrodden, and we have to fight a long battle as our rights are being compromised. Those wearing jeans will never become leaders,” Singh, 76, said, shouting at those workers.
“Have you come to shoot the film? If you want to do politics, then sit on dharna (strike) and learn to agitate. It’s time for training for young leaders. Our rights have been taken away so we have to fight for a long battle,” he said.
The move has triggered a fresh controversy particularly when the young generation has asked the party leadership to change its mindset. It also brought out in the open the party’s internal disagreements.
“I don’t think it is proper (to implement the dress code). Today’s politics has nothing to do with dress or uniform,” Akash Kumar, youth wing head of the party said.
Neeraj Kumar, another young leader of the party was also not happy with the move. “Instead of making controversial remarks, the party should focus on issues,” he said.
The RJD is the party of veteran leader Lalu Prasad Yadav, who has served as Bihar’s chief minister and India’s railways minister. His son Tejashwi Yadav, 31, is the state’s current leader of the opposition.
Bihar has made the headlines in the past after many of the state’s villages banned wearing of jeans and T-shirts by girls, claiming that it was the main reason for growing sexual offence in the society.
The latest controversy took place during the sit-in programme that the RJD organised on Saturday (7) seeking a caste census. The state, which is known for its caste equations, has seen a number of protests since the central government decided not to detail caste-wise populations other than Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the census.
“The state governments of Maharashtra and Odisha have requested to collect caste details in the forthcoming census. The government of India has decided as a matter of policy not to enumerate caste-wise populations other than SCs and STs in the census,” Union minister of state for home affairs Nityanand Rai told parliament last month.
The announcement has left the opposition parties fuming and even Bihar’s ruling Janata Dal United (JD-U) headed by chief minister Nitish Kumar, who is an ally of prime minister Modi, has joined the opposition camp seeking the census.
“It is wrong to say it will create caste animosity in the society; rather it will improve governance in the country,” the chief minister said.
