Patna/New Dlehi: Lalu Prasad raised the hackles of estranged ally Congress and rival JD(U) on Sunday with his remark against AICC in-charge of Bihar Bhakt Charan Das, drawing strong condemnation from from a close aide of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who called the RJD supremo “anti-Dalit”.
Ashok Choudhary, a powerful member of the state cabinet, deplored the RJD leader”s use of a Bihari slang to berate Bhakt Charan Das, a Dalit, while replying to questions from journalists in the national capital.
Mr Prasad, who is scheduled to arrive here later in the day, asserted he will campaign for by-elections to Tarapur and Kusheshwar Asthan assembly seats, which have become a flashpoint between the two old allies.
When asked whether it was curtains down for the Congress-RJD alliance, Mr Prasad snapped, asking “Kya hota hai Congress ka gathbandhan (of what use is an alliance with the Congress).
“Should we have parted with a seat so that the Congress loses it and forfeits its deposit,” Prasad remarked with disdain, and when asked about the allegation by Das that by turning its back on the Congress the RJD was helping the BJP, he quipped “Bhakt Charan is a bhakchonhar (stupid person)”.
Mr Choudhary, who is himself a former state Congress president who walked over to the JD(U) less than four years ago, expressed strong disapproval of the language used by the flamboyant former Bihar chief minister and asserted it showed his ”anti-Dalit mindset”.
“The RJD has always been anti-Dalit. This has been reflected in the type of language Lalu has used against Bhakt Charan Das. Recently, Tejashwi Yadav skipped a function which was addressed by no less a person than President Ram Nath Kovind. That, too, was indicative of the party”s disregard for Dalits,” said Mr Choudhary, a prominent Dalit leader who had served as a minister in the Rabri Devi government, but has been known to be uncomfortable with the RJD.
Interestingly, earlier in the day, Nitish Kumar was complimented by a senior Congress leader for having “better secular credentials despite his tie-up with the BJP” than the RJD chief.
