Patna: Janata Dal United (JDU) MLA Gopal Mandal on Friday resorted to hurling expletives at reporters when asked about why he carried a handgun to a hospital, day after a viral video showed him brandishing a revolver at a medical facility in Bihar’s Patna.
“Baap ho ki mana karoge? (Now you tell your father what to do” a furious Mondal can be heard yelling at journalist when queried about his motive behind bringing a gun to a hospital.
“Ha, lehrayethe (Yes, I brandished my weapon). Tum log humare baap ho ki mana karoge? (Are you my father that you will stop me?)” the JDU Minister, visibly irate by the reporters’ questions, said in a heated moment, while speaking to newsmen in Patna on Friday.
#WATCH | On being asked about a viral video purportedly showing him carrying a pistol inside a hospital, Bihar JD(U) MLA Gopal Mandal hurls expletives at journalists in Patna, says, "Tum log humare baap ho ki mana karoge?…"
(Note: Abusive language) pic.twitter.com/sp23FxZRwz
— ANI (@ANI) October 6, 2023
The MLA was also heard hurling expletives at the reporters surrounding him.
Initially, Gopal Mandal tried to tone down his action claiming that he had placed his revolver in his pyjamas and it slipped.
“I had taken the revolver and kept it in my pyjama. Just when I placed my foot on the stairs it slipped. Are you journalists or what. I find it difficult placing it on my waist,” he said.
The JDU MLA waded into a controversy when a video surfaced in which he was purportedly holding a pistol while walking into the state-run Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College and Hospital in Bihar’s Bhagalpur.
#Bihar
JDU MLA Gopal Mandal reached the hospital with a gun in his hand to get his granddaughter examine
★★★★★★★★
Should everyone be allowed to take Gun ,Missiles, Bombs in Hospital?#MedTwitter pic.twitter.com/o5ptOR7z9K— Indian Doctor (@Indian__doctor) October 6, 2023
The video quickly went viral on social media platforms and invited criticism from opposition parties who accused Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of encouraging and perpetrating lawlessness in the state.
Mandal had arrived at the facility in connection with his granddaughter’s appointment with a doctor there, reports said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has earlier criticised the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar for bringing about ‘jungle raj’ (reign of crime) in the state. The video offers fresh ammunition to the BJP.
(With inputs from agencies)