Wednesday, Apr 24, 2024 | Last Update : 04:20 AM IST
Lalu Prasad Yadav attacks ‘powerful’ BJP for vendetta politics
The verdict in the fodder scam case comes at a time when Lalu was preparing to stitch a larger secular alliance at the national level against the BJP.
Patna: RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Saturday after being convicted in the fodder scam case lashed out at the BJP for its alleged vendetta politics and claimed that “people of Bihar were with him and he will continue to fight against the BJP”.
The RJD chief also played the caste card and attacked the BJP through a barrage of tweets after he was pronounced guilty. “Powerful people and powerful classes always managed to divide society into ruling and the ruled classes. And whenever anyone from the lower hierarchy challenged this unjust order, they would be deliberately punished,” he said.
The verdict in the fodder scam case comes at a time when Mr Yadav was preparing to stitch a larger secular alliance at the national level against the BJP.
After the dramatic collapse of the Grand Secular Alliance in June this year, the RJD chief had managed to stay in alliance with the Congress in Bihar despite opposition from a faction who wanted to end all ties with his party on grounds that he was facing a string of corruption charges.
There is a buzz in political circles that a section in the Bihar unit of the Congress may oppose high command’s decision to remain in alliance with the RJD after he was found guilty and convicted for the second time.
The speculation that Mr Yadav’s conviction will impact the political equation and break the Grand Secular Alliance was, however, dismissed by many RJD leaders.
“Lalu Yadav is considered a messiah of the poor and backward... Not only Lalu Yadav’s family, but the entire RJD has full faith in the judiciary,” RJD legislator Moham-mad Neamtullah told this newspaper.
The RJD’s vote share has been about 18-20 per cent in the last four elections, even after losing power in Bihar in 2005. Muslims and Yadavs, who form over 30 per cent of Bihar’s population, consider Lalu Yadav as their messiah.
But the scenario may change. According to observers here, Mr Yadav’s conviction in the fodder scam case may also give rise to infighting within the RJD as several seniormost party leaders may not accept Tejashwi Yadav as their leader.
