Not 'mai-baap', I’m 'Shakuni Mama' of Biharis, says Markandey Katju; booked for sedition

Patna: Former Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju called himself the “Shakuni Mama of Biharis” on Wednesday while responding to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s angry outburst against his humiliating comments on the people of Bihar.

Shakuni, the maternal uncle of the Kauravas, is a negative character in the epic Mahabharat.

“Nitish Kumar says that I regard myself as the ‘mai baap’ (guardian) of Bihar. No Nitishji, I am not the ‘mai baap’ of Biharis but their Shakuni Mama,” the noted jurist wrote on Facebook.

Justice Katju had invited criticism from Bihar politicians, including Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, for his `humiliating` comment on Bihar on the social media.

Katju had on Monday posted a sarcastic comment on Bihar offering Pakistan "a package to solve the Kashmir crisis".

He had tweeted: "It`s a package deal. You have to take the whole package or none at all. Either you take both Kashmir and Bihar or nothing. We will not give you Kashmir alone", and also posted on Facebook.

"Is Katju `mai-baap` (mother and father) of Bihar or is Katju `maalik` (owner) of Bihar," Nitish Kumar told media persons here.

Nitish Kumar said Bihar has a glorious past and a history full of remarkable contributions. "We are proud of Bihar and our roots here".

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Yadav wondered who gave Katju the right to humiliate Bihar and its 10.5 crore people.

"The state of Bihar may be lacking in resources but it did not give Katju a free hand to humiliate Bihar... The state may be devoid of resources but it does not mean anyone can lambast it," Tejaswi countered in his tweet.

Ruling Janata Dal-United leaders have termed Katju`s comment as an instance of sedition and demanded legal action against him.

The opposition BJP also demanded Katju`s "immediate arrest" on charges of "sedition".

Neeraj Kumar, a Janata Dal-United MLC in Bihar, later filed an FIR against former Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju for his sarcastic comment about Bihar on social media.

However, Katju later apologised for making sarcastic remarks on Bihar and praised the state for producing gems like Gautam Buddha, Chandragupta Maurya, Ashoka, Dr. Rajendra Prasad etc.