Lalu Prasad running Congress, should be sent back to jail, claims Opposition-led BJP

Opposition BJP attacks Lalu Prasad for running Congress in Bihar from jail. RJD, JDU defend him, citing age. BJP says fight is against RJD. Leaders urge court to take suo motu cognisance of Prasad's remarks

The Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party leaders in Bihar on Friday attacked Lalu Prasad for violating the “jail manual and running the Congress party” in the State. The attack followed the comments made by Mr. Prasad on October 26, who had claimed that during his imprisonment at Ranchi Jail he had called up Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Ahmed Patel to make State Congress chief Akhilesh Prasad Singh an MP in Rajya Sabha, a post he continues to hold to date. Mr. Prasad was lodged in Hotwar jail in Ranchi after his convictions in several fodder scam cases; he later received bail after serving nearly half of his prison sentence.

The RJD, and the ruling coalition partner Janata Dal United (JDU), defended Mr. Prasad saying that his advancing age must be taken in to account for this “slip of tongue”.

“It is Lalu Prasad who is running the Congress in Bihar. They have no option but to piggyback on the RJD and Laluji will determine what the Congress has to do,” alleged state BJP president Samrat Choudhary.

At the function, held at the Congress headquarters in Sadaqat Ashram, Mr. Prasad had also slammed the BJP government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Centre. “The countdown of the Modi-led government has begun after the caste survey was done in Bihar,” Mr. Prasad had said.

To the same, Mr. Choudhary responded, “He [Mr. Prasad] can speak whatever he wants and he was provided a platform by a party [Congress] that does not have a leader in the State and also no more a factor in regional politics. The BJP’s fight in Bihar today is neither against Congress or the JD(U) but, against the RJD.”

Leader of Opposition in State Assembly, and former Speaker, Vijay Kumar Sinha urged the court to take suo motu cognisance of what Mr. Prasad had said. “Mr. Prasad claimed he spoke to Congress leaders from jail. It is violation of jail manual. The court should take suo motu cognisance of it and send him [Mr. Prasad] to jail again.”

Leaders of the RJD and ruling coalition partner JD(U) tried to play down Mr. Prasad’s remarks. “Lalu Prasad has said nothing wrong as he expressed only his sentiments. His relation with Congress leader Sonia Gandhi is an age-old and it is known to everyone,” said RJD leader and party spokesperson Shakti Singh Yadav. However, JD(U) leader and State Minister Ashok Choudhary said, “Lalu Prasad ji could have said all this by mistake; it might be a slip of his tongue. He has grown old and had a big operation of late, so he might have misspoken.”