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‘Modi ko hatana hai’: Lalu’s first comment as his RJD returns to power in Bihar
RJD leader Lalu Prasad is expected to hold a meeting with party workers and functionaries on Wednesday evening, which will be a first since Bihar CM Nitish Kumar quit the BJP-led NDA and joined hands with the RJD to form a new government in the eastern state.
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav on Wednesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi must be ousted from power. The ailing leader is set to return to Patna for the first time after the RJD came back to power in the state. He was speaking to reporters about the 2024 general elections where the Modi-led BJP government at the central government is looking for a hat-trick.
“We have to oust the dictatorial government. Hatana hai, Modi ko hatana hai,” Prasad was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
In a video shared by ANI, the RJD leader was also asked by reporters about his views on BJP Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Kumar Modi's allegations that some of the newly sworn-in ministers in Bihar cabinet have criminal charges against them. Prasad said, “Sushil Modi is a liar. It's all wrong.”
The RJD leader's statements come days after Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar rekindled ties with the RJD to form a new government in the eastern state with Prasad’s son Tejashwi Yadav as his deputy.
Kumar's JD(U) was till then in a coalition government with the BJP. On Tuesday, Kumar expanded his cabinet that saw Tejashwi getting the health department, and Prasad's elder son and Tejashwi's brother, Tej Pratap, taking over the environment ministry. The home and finance departments have been allocated to JD(U), thereby drawing jibes of “betrayal” from the saffron camp now in opposition.
Prasad, who is ailing from a shoulder fracture, is expected to meet RJD workers and leaders at his 10 Circular road residence in Patna later in the evening.
RJD's Bihar unit president Jagdanand Singh said Prasad's programme has been drafted on behalf of the party. “The RJD chief will give blessings to the party MLAs and other functionaries in view of the formation of GA government,” he added.
This will be the first time that Prasad will return to Patna since Kumar quit the NDA and formed a government with RJD and other parties, including Congress. Since his release on bail in April last year in the fodder scam case, Prasad has been primarily residing at the residence of his daughter and Rajya Sabha member Misa Bharti in the national capital, returning to the Bihar capital only for short spells.
Following a shoulder fracture at his residence in Patna in July, Prasad was airlifted to AIIMS, New Delhi, for treatment. The RJD leader was discharged on July 22.
According to reports, Prasad may also meet Kumar during this Patna visit.
The BJP, meanwhile, has been constantly attacking Kumar after he expanded the Bihar cabinet. On Tuesday, Sushil Modi asked what message was the Bihar chief minister giving by inducting people like Surendra Yadav, Lalit Yadav, Ramanand Yadav and Kartikeya Singh, who reportedly have criminal histories.
BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the saffron party expects the Patna high court to take serious cognisance of Kartikeya's induction as a new minister. “Kartikeya Singh should be sacked and strict action should be taken against him,” he told ANI.
Kartikeya allegedly has an outstanding arrest warrant against him in a kidnapping case, and was asked to surrender before a court on Tuesday (August 16) - the day he took oath as Bihar's law minister.
(With agency inputs)
