Bihar minister blames RJD for spreading molestation videos and faces backlash

Bihar minister Bhagwan Singh Kushwaha has accused the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal of making viral on social media videos related to alleged molestation of minor girls in several districts of the state. The minister made the remarks while speaking to reporters in Patna on Friday, September 25, 2026. Kushwaha, who holds the Planning and Development portfolio in Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary’s cabinet, said the videos were being used to damage the government’s image.

He claimed that scrutiny of the videos would show that there was no substance to them, and said the RJD was responsible for circulating them because it had no other issue to raise. He also used derogatory language about members of the Yadav community and asserted, without citing data, that Yadavs constituted the largest group in Bihar’s prisons. The minister endorsed comments attributed to Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi concerning the community’s alleged involvement in criminal incidents.

Kushwaha further defended the release of a photograph showing a minor girl from Jamui, who had allegedly been molested, with her parents during a visit to the chief minister’s official residence. Asked whether publication of the image breached the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, he said he did not believe the law had been violated and accused the media of creating an issue. The RJD condemned the minister’s comments in posts on X, describing them as casteist and warning that they could contribute to social and political polarisation.

The party said those offended by the remarks could pursue a defamation case, while criticising the government’s record and conduct. Separately, RJD MP Misa Bharti went to Patna’s Secretariat Police Station to submit a complaint against Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary over the molestation cases. She later told reporters that officers had refused to register the FIR after she waited with her complaint letter.

Bharti questioned what would happen to ordinary citizens if police would not register a complaint from a Member of Parliament and elected representative. The supplied report does not give a response from the chief minister or police to her allegation.