'Moral policing can be done in a more decent and elegant fashion': Bihar minister on Jamui minors' harassment

Bihar minister and Jamui MLA Shreyasi Singh has faced criticism over her remarks on the alleged harassment of a minor boy and girl in the district, saying that “moral policing can be done in a more decent and elegant fashion”.

Speaking to India Today TV on Tuesday, Singh condemned the way the two minors were treated, while saying that people may have their own opinions about how others choose to live.

“The way they mishandled and mistreated the boy and girl together is absolutely not tolerable,” Singh, a former sports shooter and BJP leader, told the news channel. She added that moral policing could instead be carried out in a “more decent and elegant fashion”.

Her comments followed the circulation of a video showing a group of people confronting and allegedly harassing the boy and girl on a roadside in Jamui. The video triggered widespread outrage.

Asked to explain her remarks, Singh said people could have opinions about the choices made by others but should express them in a different manner.

“You can have an opinion about how somebody chooses to live their life and what they want to do with it. Maybe there is a better way to do it. But the way they have treated them is absolutely not tolerable. The videos that have come are shocking,” she said.

Singh also expressed disbelief over the manner in which local residents treated the two minors.

“How can you treat a boy and a girl of the society that you are living in? They must have known that the boy and girl are kids from Jammu. I can't fathom the fact that they were treated this badly by locals,” she said.