Lalu Prasad Yadav.
Credit: PTI Photo
Patna: A poster demanding Bharat Ratna for RJD president Lalu Prasad Yadav on Friday evoked ridicule from the ruling NDA in Bihar which raked up the former chief minister's tainted record.
The poster, signed by an office bearer of the RJD's SC/ST cell, has been put up close to the party's Birchand Patel Marg office in the state capital.
"Leader of social justice and the voice of Bihar Lalu Prasad be conferred with Bharat Ratna", read a slogan on the poster which also had a photograph of the RJD supremo captioned "Messiah! Our God!"
Reacting with distaste, JD(U) national spokesperson Rajiv Ranjan Prasad said, "I would have treated it as a joke had we been close to the festival of Holi. But since the demand has been made by RJD in earnest, I would urge them not to insult (tauheen) the Bharat Ratna."
JD(U) state spokesperson and MLC Neeraj Kumar put it more bluntly, saying "Why should Lalu ji get a Bharat Ratna? The high standards of corruption, casteism, dynasty politics and patronage to criminals set by him would make any Ratna (jewel) lose its sheen out of shame."
Notably, Prasad is serving sentences in a number of fodder scam cases and is currently out on bail. He has also been disqualified from contesting polls on account of convictions in the cases.
Former state BJP president and Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary sought to underscore the point saying, "In recognition of his financial wrongdoings, Lalu Prasad be given the title of Loot Ratna."
Meanwhile, the RJD, which has been out of power despite being the single largest party in state assembly, was unfazed.
"Talk to any rickshaw puller or labourer in Bihar. He will tell you that it was Lalu ji who gave them a voice. All OBC and Dalit leaders of Bihar, be they from any party, owe their political fortunes to the social revolution brought in by our leader," asserted RJD spokesperson Ejaz Ahmed.
The Congress, which has been an old alliance partner of the RJD, came out with a guarded response.
"Every party has such feelings about its leader. There is nothing unusual about it. Moreover, we cannot deny the fact that among all leaders in Bihar, Lalu has the largest support base," said state Congress media cell in-charge Rajesh Rathore.
Incidentally, just about a month ago, a poster demanding the highest civilian honour for Nitish Kumar, the longest serving CM of the state, had been put up outside his JD(U)'s office.
Another NDA partner, Union minister Chirag Paswan, has demanded Bharat Ratna for his late father Ram Vilas Paswan.