RJD dares Vajpayee to contest against Laloo from Chapra
Reacting to PM's statement that there may have been rigging in the constituency, RJD has challenged him to fight against their chief.
Reacting to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's statement that there may have been rigging in Bihar's Chapra constituency, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has challenged him to contest against their chief Laloo Prasad Yadav.
"We challenge Vajpayee to contest from Chapra against Laloo," said RJD's election in-charge Bhola Prasad Singh, adding that Vajpayee would be defeated by the people of Chapra if he ever dared to contest an election from their area.
He said Vajpayee's statement on rigging in Chapra - where Civil Aviation Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Rajiv Pratap Rudy has alleged that RJD supporters had rigged the poll on April 26 - was unwarranted, unethical and unbecoming of the prime minister.
Singh said Vajpayee's statement in a rally in Kolkata on Tuesday that the Chapra election may not have been free and fair was part of the BJP's strategy to influence the Election Commission to countermand polls in the constituency.
Vajpayee had said on Tuesday "I don't know what the Election Commission will decide but it has been given evidence and pictures of unfair voting practices in Chapra."
The Election Commission is likely to announce its decision on the Chapra election soon. A commission team, which visited Chapra on Sunday, has submitted its report to Chief Election Commissioner TS Krishna Murthy in Delhi.
Rudy is pitted against Laloo Yadav in a much publicised election. While Rudy has blamed RJD supporters for large-scale rigging and urged the Election Commission to countermand the election, the RJD chief has refuted the allegations.