Janata Dal (United) leader Gopal Mandal who is an MLA from Bihar’s Gopalpur constituency, grabbed the limelight on Thursday for all the wrong reasons. The JD(U) MLA was involved in a heated argument with co-passengers onboard Patna-Delhi Tejas Rajdhani Express after they objected to him roaming in the compartment in his undergarments.
A picture of the MLA sanding in the AC First Class compartment wearing a white vest has gone viral online. The fellow passengers object to this and then he got into a heated argument with them.
One of the passengers Prahad Paswan claimed to have complained against Mandal and said that he didn’t know the man was an MLA. Prahad also alleged that Mandal abused other passengers, tried to beat them up and even threatened to shoot them, reported the India Today.
Rajesh Kumar, Chief Public Relation Officer (CPRO), East Central Railway informed that some passengers complained about the behaviour of the MLA. Following this, RPF (Railway Protection Force) and TTE (Travelling Ticket Examiner) persuaded both parties and resolved the issue.
After the row, Mandal today clarified that he had to strip down as he had an upset stomach. “I was only wearing the undergarments as my stomach was upset during the journey,” said the MLA.
Gopal Mandal is not new to controversy. While this may be one of its kind issues faced by him, the JD(U) MLA had earlier created a political storm in January this year when he had his hand in defeating the BJP candidate from Bhagalpur. The JD(U) and the BJP had contested Bihar polls in an alliance. Mandal was heard saying in a viral video that whoever he campaigned for in the seat won the election. He added that he did not campaign for BJP’s Rohit Pandey who lost to Ajeet Sharma of the Congress in the polls held last year.