Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly and jailed Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad's son Tejashwi Yadav said in Patna on Tuesday that Had his father joined hands with the BJP, he would have been Raja Harishchandra.
He also alleged that the BJP was constantly “conspiring against and harassing” his father and family.
His comments came two days after Prasad was convicted in a fodder scam case.
“If my father had been a palturam [betrayer] like Nitish Kumar, all this c hara [fodder] would have been bhaichara [brotherhood] for the BJP, said the younger son of Prasad. He also hit out at his political opponents for commenting that after the RJD chief’s incarceration, there would be bhagdar [confusion] in the party.
‘People are outraged’
“Those who think that the RJD will be finished are hugely mistaken…people of Bihar are outraged and they will give a strong reply to this,” he said. “ Jisko janata ne mandate diya woh jail mein hain, jisko nakar diya woh sarkar mein hai [to whom people have given their mandate is in jail, but those voted out are in power], Mr. Yadav said.
Asked about his next step, he said the family would move the Ranchi High Court against the special CBI court’s verdict. “It’s a conspiracy against Laluji and our family…we will move the High Court and are confident of getting justice there,” he said.
“Earlier too, the CBI sent Lalu Prasad to jail in a disproportionate assets case but we got justice from the higher court…the same will happen in this case too,” he said.
Mr. Yadav also held a meeting with senior party leaders Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, Abdul Bari Siddiqui, State party chief Ram Chandra Purve, Alok Mehta, Jagdanand Singh and others at his 10 Circular Road residence on Tuesday afternoon.
Later, speaking to journalists, Mr. Raghuvansh Prasad Singh said: “All party leaders, legislators and MPs will be meeting on January 6 to chalk out the party’s future strategy…we will throw out this government in 2018 itself.” “Party workers and leaders are geared for the next battle and will not wait for the 2019 or 2020 elections,” he added.
No change in jail norms
Meanwhile, sources told The Hindu that the Jharkhand government had rejected the request of RJD leaders to relax the jail manual norms to enable Lalu Prasad to meet “as many people as and when he wished” inside the Birsa Munda Central jail where he is lodged.
Some RJD leaders had requested Chief Minister Raghuvar Das to make some concessions on the ground that the RJD chief “was a mass leader and also not keeping well.”
