Nitish Government a Complete Failure: Lalu
Patna: Oct. 28, 2007
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RJD's Chetawani Rally in Patna
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Photo by Shashi Uttam |
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Despite all the hoopla surrounding the so-called 'Chetawani Rally' against the NDA government in Bihar, the event at Gandhi Maidan on Sunday by and large failed to live up to its promise of gathering 30 lakh Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supporters or causing any major shift in the public opinion against the 2-year old Nitish government in the state.
The speech by the RJD president and Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav had all the overtone of the vintage Lalu who, using his familiar rustic colloquialism, lashed out at the Nitish government declaring it as bankrupt and devoid of any plan or vision.
"This government is like a bubble, ready to burst any day," said Yadav adding the people of Bihar had lost faith in it and it was just a matter of time before it crashes down on the earth with a big bang.
Hoping to influence Nitish Kumar by his 'secular' rhetoric, Yadav challenged the Chief Minister to dump Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) as its ally in Bihar saying with the BJP by its side, the Janata Dal (U) could not claim itself as a secular party.
Yadav recounted the points against the Nitish government including rise in kidnapping incidents, an unbridled bureaucracy, atrocities on dalits and minorities, failing to use Centrally-provided fund for various schemes, mishandling of flood in the state, visiting Mauritius at the time the state was undergoing the worst flood in decades, and other rhetoric that are hurled against the government by other RJD operatives.
The man with many rallies under his belt, including the now-infamous 'tel pilawan, lathi ghumawan rally', Yadav appeared visibly keen to break out of his time-tested MY (Muslim-Yadav) equation as he again promised to make provisions for reservation for economically impoverished members of the upper castes and Muslim community in an attempt to re-solidify his position in the state.
Not someone to miss an opportunity to raise the specter of Gujarat riots, Yadav reminded people of the carnage and demanded arrest of Gujarat Chief Minister and Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Narendra Modi on charges of murders.
Taking a dig at the Chief Minister, the Railway Minister ridiculed Nitish Kumar for 'constantly demanding more money' from the Central government. "He goes with a small bag asking for more funding and the Central government sends him back to Bihar with sacks of money. Yet, there is no sign of any improvement in Bihar. Where has all the money gone – that's what we would like to know," Yadav said.
The rally, however, ended at 2:00 pm much before the 5:00 pm schedule leaving the leaders to worry about their next move to corner the Nitish government.
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