NEW DELHI: Affronted Biharis have been sending hundreds of thousands of DNA samples to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi following the premier's jibe against Bihar Chief Minister Nitesh Kumar, according to a report published on the BBC website.

Modi had earlier said that CM Kumar's decision to sever electoral ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) early in 2013, had meant there was something wrong with his "political DNA".

Prior to the 2014 general elections held in India, Kumar had protested Modi’s candidacy and questioned his secular credentials suggesting that he could exacerbate communal tensions between Hindus and Muslims in India.

Kumar said the Indian premier had hurt the sentiments of Biharis by implying that Bihari DNA was poor. He said that the people of the Indian state, in protest, would send 5 million samples of their DNA to Modi.

A member of Kumar's Janata Dal United (JDU) said that 600,000 people had sent DNA samples to the prime minister's office, while his office in the state capital had been sent 1.5m samples of DNA.

Delhi's head of postal services said the Indian premier receives around two to three mail bags a day, each containing approximately 1,000 letters.

Another postal department official said that the service had delivered 47 bags to Modi's office over the past few days.

The letters contain DNA samples in the form of hair strands and nail clippings, and many are marked "shabd wapsi" or "take back your words".

Also read: Indian PM Modi to visit Facebook HQ on Sept 27

Opinion

Editorial

Short-changed?
Updated 24 Nov, 2024

Short-changed?

As nations continue to argue, the international community must recognise that climate finance is not merely about numbers.
Overblown ‘threat’
24 Nov, 2024

Overblown ‘threat’

ON the eve of the PTI’s ‘do or die’ protest in the federal capital, there seemed to be little evidence of the...
Exclusive politics
24 Nov, 2024

Exclusive politics

THERE has been a gradual erasure of the voices of most marginalised groups from Pakistan’s mainstream political...
Counterterrorism plan
Updated 23 Nov, 2024

Counterterrorism plan

Lacunae in our counterterrorism efforts need to be plugged quickly.
Bullish stock market
23 Nov, 2024

Bullish stock market

NORMALLY, stock markets rise gradually. In recent months, however, Pakistan’s stock market has soared to one ...
Political misstep
Updated 23 Nov, 2024

Political misstep

To drag a critical ally like Saudi Arabia into unfounded conspiracies is detrimental to Pakistan’s foreign policy.