Patna: Expressing his ire over the government denying permission for Mohammad Shahabuddin’s last rites in Siwan, former Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav on Monday said the former’s demise is an “irreparable loss” to the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
Lambasting the government, Yadav said that all arrangements were made for Shahabuddin’s last rites in Siwan.
“Right from his treatment to his last rites as per the wish of his family in Siwan, I and the national party president made all arrangements. We stayed in touch with his family members but the government adopted a dogmatic approach and did not give us permission,” he tweeted.
“The administration maintained a stubborn attitude citing the Covid protocol. After the postmortem, the administration wanted to bury him elsewhere but in the end after talking to the Commissioner permission was given for ITO graveyard, one of the two options given by the family. May God bless him in heaven,” he said in another post.
READ: Former RJD MP Mohammed Shahabuddin Passes Away Due To Covid, Tihar Jail DG Confirms
The Leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly further said the RJD continues to support Shahabuddin’s family even after his demise.
“We pray to the God for Shahabuddin’s safe journey to heaven. His death is an irreparable loss to the party. The RJD has been standing with his family members at every step and will continue to do so,” he posted on the micro-blogging platform.
The jailed RJD MP died of Covid-19 at Delhi’s Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) Hospital earlier on Saturday.
The 53-year-old, who was serving a life sentence at Delhi’s high-security Tihar Jail in a murder case, was admitted to the hospital on April 20.
Shahabuddin and his associates were convicted in a 2004 double murder case by a special judge in Siwan on December 9, 2015, and sentenced to life imprisonment.