New Railway Minister is not Laloo but Lalu!
The name plate outside the new Railway Minister's chamber reads "Lalu Prasad" instead of the familiar Laloo Prasad Yadav.
A visit to the office of India's new railways minister after he took charge Monday surprised many -- the name plate outside the chamber read "Lalu Prasad" instead of the familiar Laloo Prasad Yadav.
Surrounded by milling crowds and a stream of well-wishers, the Bihar strongman and Rashtriya Janata Dal chief was clearly enjoying his new status as a cabinet minister.
But there were no explanations for the sudden change in his name.
His staff and railway ministry officials gave different reasons.
One member of his personal staff pointed out that Prasad had taken his oath of office Saturday under his current name, which is the way it is officially spelt in Government notifications.
He pointed out that there had been no change in the Hindi spelling of the name, except for the dropping of Yadav, his clan name.
Another close aide admitted the name had originally been Laloo, but could give no reason for the change.
Did numerology for better luck have anything to do with the change in spelling? Only Lalu Prasad can tell!