Twitter erupted with potshots on Friday after Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, whose political career took off after a national crusade against corruption, hugged RJD chief and fodder scam convict Lalu Prasad at Nitish Kumar’s oath-taking ceremony in Patna.
The remarks on Twitter proved nothing escapes the unremitting eyes of social media. Users posted a 2013 tweet by Kejriwal which had taken a dig at the sentence Prasad received after his conviction.
Others expressed shock over how Kejriwal, who has pledged to make Delhi corruption-free within five years, could embrace Prasad in a political “U-turn”.
{{/usCountry}}Others expressed shock over how Kejriwal, who has pledged to make Delhi corruption-free within five years, could embrace Prasad in a political “U-turn”.
{{/usCountry}}A court sentenced Prasad to five years in jail in 2013 for siphoning off state funds. Prasad was convicted for his part in a 1990s animal fodder racket in Bihar in which crores of rupees went missing. He was granted bail by the Supreme Court later that year.
Kejriwal, who has had a long feud with the Narendra Modi-led central government, had come out in support of Nitish Kumar ahead of the staggered Bihar elections. He later said the impressive win by the ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U) and its allies Rashtriya Janata Dal and Congress had shattered the “arrogance” and “self-pride” of Modi and BJP president Amit Shah.
Bruised after the BJP’s massive win in Bihar in the 2014 general elections, Kumar and Prasad buried their differences and revived an old alliance going back to the 1970s to fight a common enemy in the key assembly elections.