In a major political controversy that erupted during the ongoing Lok Sabha debate on Operation Sindoor and the Pahalgam terror attack, Union Minister and senior JDU leader Rajiv Ranjan Singh, popularly known as Lalan Singh, triggered outrage by referring to globally designated terrorist Masood Azhar as “Masood Azhar Sahab.” The comment was made during Singh’s speech in Parliament on Monday, sparking immediate backlash from the Opposition, particularly the Congress party.

In a 20-second clip of the speech, now widely circulating on social media, Singh can be heard saying, “Aap sab ne dekha hoga, jo aatankwadiyon ke aaka the wo ro rahe the... Masood Azhar Sahab,” which translates to, “You must have seen, the masters of the terrorists were crying… Masood Azhar Sahab.” The phrase quickly drew criticism for using the honorific “Sahab” for Masood Azhar, the founder of Jaish-e-Mohammed and a key mastermind behind several deadly attacks in India.

Further controversy erupted as Singh appeared to say, “saikadon aatankwadi shaheed huye” (hundreds of terrorists were martyred), in the same speech. The Congress party swiftly pounced on the remarks, accusing Singh of showing misplaced respect towards a terrorist. Sharing the viral video on X (formerly Twitter), the party wrote, “This is the mentality of Narendra Modi’s minister.”

Congress spokesperson Alok Sharma questioned the media’s silence on the remark, posting on X, “Now, will anyone’s sentiments be hurt, will any media channel debate on this?” Several users on social media echoed similar sentiments, slamming the minister for using language that seemed to show sympathy or respect toward a terrorist who has long been India’s most wanted for his involvement in the Parliament attack, the Pathankot airbase strike, and the Pulwama bombing.