Lalu says Maharashtra can’t happen in Bihar

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) national president Lalu Prasad on Monday said Bihar would script the beginning of the end of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s regime and any attempt to do a Maharashtra in the state would fall flat.

Speaking after the release of the book “Nitish Kumar: In the eyes of his friend”, written by Uday Kant Mishra, the Bihar CM’s friend and vice chairman of the Disaster Management Authority, Prasad said, “Today, the country is facing threat of disintegration and the Constitution has been undermined. Narendra Modi tells everyone corrupt, but who could be more corrupt than him. All of you must have heard of Adani and other episodes, purchase of MLAs etc. He is creating a divide between the followers of Ram and Rahim. The fabric of the country is under threat. Now, the beginning of the end of Narendra Modi regime has started,” he said.

“Narendra Modi is against reservation. Now I hear that the attempt is to repeat Maharashtra in Bihar, but it will not happen. Here, all are united. Bihar does not budge. We will unitedly work to uproot the Modi government,” he said.

Releases book on Nitish, recalls old days together

Recalling his long association with CM Kumar, Prasad said, “Nitish Kumar is from a humble background. His father was a village doctor. He grew up through struggle. It was a coincidence that when I became the CM, around the same time Nitish Kumar became a minister at the Centre. Before that, we both used to wait for cabinet berth during the VP Singh government, but that did not happen,” the former Bihar CM said.

The writer Udaykant Mishra said that the great socialist leader Jay Prakash Narayan was around the same age as Nitish Kumar is today and the entire nation was looking forward to him to trigger another big revolution from the JP’s land. “The time demands it and he will certainly take it forward,” he said.

Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha said it was a refreshing to see Lalu Prasad releasing the book on Nitish Kumar despite the fact that the two worked on different permutations and combinations in the last 30 years. “But we want the present phase to carry on for the simple reason that the country needs it today. It is a book by a friend and that makes it vibrant,” he said.

CPI Politburo member and former MP Subhashini Ali said she was happy that two of her brothers — Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar — had come together at a time when the country needs it the most. “There could be nothing better than the two leaders coming together to fight a regime that is very powerful,” she said.

Bihar Legislative Council chairman Devesh Chandra Thakur, Bihar finance minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary, water resources minister Sanjay Kunar Jha, building construction minister Ashok Choudhary, former Speaker Uday Narayan Choudhary, former chief secretary Anjani Kumar Singh and many others present on the occasion.