Video shows anti-Modi slogans at Darbhanga opposition event triggering clashes

A video of abusive slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his late mother at an opposition event in Darbhanga set off a political firestorm and street clashes in Bihar this week, with police arresting a suspect and rival parties trading accusations as Congress pressed on with its Voter Adhikar Yatra. The incident occurred on Wednesday as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and allied leaders were traversing Darbhanga as part of the 16‑day, 1,300 kilometre campaign that began on August 17 and is due to culminate in Patna on September 1.

The clip, which circulated widely on social media, appears to show a person on a dais raising an expletive against the prime minister. The BJP lodged complaints and filed a first information report at Kotwali police station in Patna, and Darbhanga police said they had arrested a man in connection with the case. Media reports identified the arrestee variously as Mohammad Rizvi alias Raja; party sources and local organisers also named Mohammad Naushad as the person who had erected the podium where the remark was recorded. Naushad told reporters he had left the platform before the clip was filmed and offered an apology if the footage was...