Bihar polls: FIRs against Lalu, Shah for use of ‘abusive’ words

FIRs were lodged against BJP president Amit Shah and RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Tuesday for allegedly violating the election code ahead of the Bihar assembly polls.

Police lodged FIRs on Tuesday against Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad and BJP president Amit Shah for derogatory remarks against each other at separate rallies ahead of the high-stakes elections in Bihar that kick off on October 12.

FIRs were lodged against RJD chief Lalu Prasad (R) and BJP president Amit Shah (L) on Tuesday ahead of the Bihar assembly polls. (File Photos)

Additional chief electoral officer R Lakshmanan said two separate FIRs were lodged against Lalu for calling Shah a “narbhakshi (cannibal)”, which the election commission found violated the Representation of People Act and the Indian Penal Code.

Shah was booked for calling the RJD chief “chara chor (fodder thief)”, a reference to the fodder scam case where Lalu was convicted and jailed for five years.

The RJD chief used the ‘narbhakshi’ barb against Shah on October 1 in reaction to his ‘chara chor’ remark.

There are also several complaints against Lalu for hurting religious sentiments by saying “Hindus too eat beef”, a statement that triggered a controversy and made BJP leader Sushil Modi promise a ban on cow slaughter if the saffron party came to power.

Following the lynching of a Muslim man in neighbouring UP, beef consumption and cow slaughter have become poll issues in Bihar, where a saffron-led coalition is up against a grand alliance of the RJD, Janata Dal(United) and Congress.