Fingers, hands raised at PM Modi will be chopped off, says Bihar BJP chief Nityanand Rai

The Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Bihar unit chief Nityanand Rai on Monday stoked a controversy when he told party works to chop off the fingers and hands of people who will criticise Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Nityanand Rai who represents Ujiyarpur Lok Sabha constituency, made the remarks while speaking at a function called by the Vaishya and Kanu (OBC) communities.

"Your own son rose out of poverty to become PM, regardless of differences everyone in the country should value it. If any hand or finger is raised against him (Modi), we should come together and break it and if needed, even chop it off," the MP said.

Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi and several other BJP's Bihar ministers Nand Kishore Yadav, Mangal Pandey and Suresh Sharma were also present when the MP made comment.

However, Rai defended his comment saying he used it as a proverb to convey a message and was not meant for individuals or Opposition parties.

“I used the expression of breaking fingers and chopping hands as proverbs to convey that we would strongly deal with those who rise against the country’s pride and security. I meant country after I had finished talking about the PM’s inspiring journey”. Rai told Indian Express.

Earlier this month, Rai on Sunday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a reincarnation of Swami Vivekananda.