It seems that there is no love lost between Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) chief lalu Prasad and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
A day after he walked out of Birsa Munda jail, the RJD supremo disdainfully dismissed Nitish’s impact on the forthcoming parliamentary elections scheduled next year and discredited his old friend of any achievements made under the Janta Dal (United) Government in Bihar.
“Nitish is no factor in Bihar. He has done nothing,” lalu told reporters before leaving for Patna by road.
He, however, refrained from making comments on the possibility of the Congress forging an alliance with his arch rival Nitish Kumar in Bihar. Interestingly, lalu suggested the alliance in Bihar to be the wish of the Congress to remain afloat in the state.
“(Jo jahan khush rahta hai rahne dena chahiye. Hum uske badhak nahin banege) One should be allowed to live happily wherever he wants to live happily. I will not become an obstruction (in the alliance between Congress and JD-U),” maintained lalu.
Oozing with confidence, lalu vowed to come back to Parliament after seeking acquittal in the fodder scam case that led him to lose the lok Sabha membership. He has been sentenced for five-year jail term in connection with the case and was released on bail granted by the Supreme Court.
“(Upper bhagwan hai aur neeche judiciary. Dono pe bharosa hai. Court se acquittal le ke hum parliament laut ke aayenge lekin tab tak khet khalihan hamara sansad rahega) God is above and judiciary in on earth I trust both. I will come back to Parliament after seeking acquittal. Until then, farm land will be my parliament,” continued the RJD chief.
lalu said he will challenge the CBI court verdict in the multi-crore fodder case in the Jharkhand High Court and continue his battle upto the apex court to seek justice in the case which the RJD chief alleged to be the handiwork of vested interests. Earlier, the former Bihar Chief Minister had blamed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) of falsely implicating him in the case.
Interestingly, the disgraced former Bihar CM expressed support for the lokpal Bill tabled and passed in the Rajya Sabha today. He, however, refrained from issuing statements on the ordinance on convicted MPs and MlAs that was promulgated before lalu’s sentencing.
“I was against the earlier bill which subjugated the supremacy of parliament and judiciary under lokpal. However, our party supports the bill, which has been amended,” added lalu.
The veteran of backward classes’ politics once again targeted the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) and its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and threatened to stall “communal horses” allegedly unleashed by Modi. Yadav during media interaction also mentioned riots in Uttar Pradesh and blamed the BJP for the incident in which people of all hue and colour suffered.