BJP suspends Gajendra Jha for announcing Rs 11 lakh reward for cutting off Jitan Manjhi's tongue

Patna, Dec 22: Bihar Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader suspended Gajendra Jha for announcing Rs 11 lakh reward for cutting off former Bihar CM Jitan Ram Majhi's tongue, asked him to give a clarification to the party high command in the next 15 days.

Jha on Monday announced ₹11 lakh reward for cutting off former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi's tongue for allegedly making disparaging remarks against Brahmins.

''I would like to make an announcement. If any Brahmin chops off the tongue of Jitan Ram Manjhi and bring it before me, then I will reward him with Rs 11 Lakhs. Jitan Ram Manjhi, however, is not worth even 11 paise,'' Jha said.

On Sunday, Manjhi had targeted the Brahmin community by saying that they came to the houses of 'Mahadalit' people (Mushahar) but did not eat food. Instead, they demanded money from them.

"The words used against Brahmins could be a slip of tongue and I want to publicly apologise for it. I am not against Brahmins but I have objection to Brahmanism," Manjhi tweeted on Tuesday.

Manjhi's explanation comes a day after executive member of BJP's Bihar unit Gajendra Jha said,"We initially believed that Jitan Ram Manjhi is a mentally ill person. He has lost consciousness. But he is repeatedly making derogatory and abusive statements against Brahmins, which cannot be tolerated.'