Lalu Promises to Stop Advani Express

Patna: July 4, 2008

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief and Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, at the party's working committee meet at Bodh Gaya on Friday, pledged to stop the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) from acquiring power in the next Lok Sabha elections saying it was he who stopped the 'Advani Rath' in Bihar in the early '90s and it would be him again next year to stop Advani from fulfilling his dream of becoming the Prime Minister of India.

"I have done it before and I will do it again. I will not allow Advani to occupy power at the Center," Yadav said adding he would also seek the alliance of Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav to prevent the NDA from beating the UPA in the upcoming Parliamentary elections.

Raising the specter of Hindu-Muslim communal turbulence, the Railway Minister said the BJP would once again play the Hindutva card but his party would launch a nationwide awareness program to 'expose the true face of Advani and his ilk'.

"Advani is the agent of communal violence in India but we will stop him from playing with the nation's secular image," he said.

Taking a dig at the NDA government in Bihar, the RJD leader accused Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of deceiving the people of the state by resorting to 'stunts like Bihar Shining'.

"He (Nitish Kumar) talks about developments in Bihar but the fact is, he is very much anti-development as is evident by the fact that he refuses to provide lands in the state for setting up various railway projects," Yadav said.