Lalu Prasad has said that he will ensure ‘immersion’ of Nitish Kumar and NDA in the by-elections. file
Patna:
Laluting down on Lalu Yadav’s challenge for the October 30 bypolls in Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has said that Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) patrons can “shoot” him but “cannot do anything else”.
In a video shared by news agency ANI, Mr Kumar is seen talking to reporters. When asked about Lalu Yadav’s remark that he had returned to Patna to ensure Mr Kumar and the ruling NDA’s “visarjan” – immersion in the by-elections, the chief minister laughed. “If he wants to shoot me, he can’t do anything else,” he said.
#Watch | Bihar CM Nitish Kumar Says “He Can Shoot Me. He Can’t Do Anything Else. If He Wants, He Can Shoot Me…” By Journalists About RJD Leader Lalu Yadav’s Statement ‘I will ensure ‘immersion’ when asked ‘Nitish Kumar in Bihar, NDA government’. pic.twitter.com/1oSaDGcgmP
— ANI (@ANI) 26 October 2021
In an interview to ANI yesterday, Lalu Yadav said that he will campaign for his party in Kusheshwar Asthan (SC) and Tarapur assembly constituencies.
“I know Tejashwi is campaigning at both the places and is doing really well in giving a tough fight to NDA. I will ensure visarjan (immersion),” he said.
The return of Lalu Prasad to the political arena of Bihar after a gap of three years has raised the political temperature ahead of the by-elections. The RJD founder, who was jailed till earlier this year after being convicted in fodder scam cases, came into limelight soon after his return.
Responding to a question on the rift between RJD and Congress, Lalu Yadav told reporters, “What is the alliance of Congress? Why should we give seats to Congress? So that they lose? Then they will lose their bail?” His remarks on Congress’s Bihar unit in-charge Bhakta Charan Das drew criticism, with the party accusing the RJD leader of hurting the self-respect of the Dalit community.
Das had said that if the RJD had saved one seat for the Congress in the bypolls, the alliance between the two parties would have survived.
Lalu Yadav’s remarks also come against the backdrop of the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections, when RJD had to sit in the opposition benches despite emerging as the single largest party as ally Congress won only 19 out of 70 seats.
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