‘If Opposition parties come together, BJP will lose power’: Lalu Prasad hits out at BJP, condemns Lakhimpur incident
New Delhi, October 5: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad claimed that if all opposition parties rally together then the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) can be defeated. “If Opposition parties come together, BJP will lose power,” the former Bihar chief minister told party workers in a video conference from Delhi on Tuesday.
Lalu lamented the inability of the Congress and other political parties’ inability to forge successful alliances, attributing their failure to form a working government to this inability. “Congress and other political parties are unable to come together. We try to forge a political alternative again and again but fail due to some reasons, that is why they are ruling the country,” Lalu said.
Lalu’s comment comes after its former ally Congress reportedly snubbed the RJD and decided to field candidates for both bypolls to Tarapur and Kusheshwar Asthan assembly seats on October 30, in spite of RJD wishing to contest from any one seat.
The former RJD supremo who had to step down as the Bihar chief minister in 1997 due to the fodder scam has been in Delhi for treatment after he was granted bail by the Jharkhand high court in the Dumka Treasury case in April of this year.
“I will soon come to Bihar. Almost every day I keep asking my doctor where I can go. I suffer from a serious kidney problem and have been advised to keep my daily intake of water limited to one litre. But my health is improving and I look forward to being with you soon, ” Prasad told party workers.
Lalu’s eldest son Tej Pratap Yadav had earlier alleged that he was being “held captive in Delhi and prevented from visiting Bihar”, which was largely seen as an attack on his brother and heir apparent of Lalu’s political legacy Tejashwi Yadav.
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar hit out at Yadav earlier on Tuesday, downplaying reports of the latter’s plans to campaign for the bypolls. “It is up to him what he wants to do, whether he wants to address rallies or do anything else. He was working from the jail anyway,” Kumar told reporters
Lalu strongly condemned the Lakhimpur Kheri incident during the video conference, reported PTI, adding that “the country is reeling under joblessness and soaring prices. But the BJP has no interest in resolving these problems. It has tasted blood, (munh khoon lag gaya hai) having come to power by pitting the followers of Ram and Rahim against each other.”
Lalu also predicted an early fall for the ruling Janata Dal (united)- BJP government in Bihar, and reaffirmed his party’s commitment to conducting caste based census, stating “We will fight and see to it that caste census is undertaken and policies are formulated taking population of different castes into account.”
(Courtesy: HT)
