RJD president and former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav predicted that the Narendra Modi government at the Centre was “weak” and could “fall” as early as within a month. He made these claims at the 28th formation day of his party, formed by himself by splitting the Janata Dal.
However, his remark was promptly dismissed by the BJP, which said the ailing septuagenarian was “hallucinating” and that the recent general elections were a reaffirmation of the people’s faith in Modi’s leadership.
Lalu Prasad, who spoke in a weak voice for less than 10 minutes, with younger son and heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav by his side, said “the Modi government is weak (kamzor). It can fall any time. It can fall in August”.
Asking his party cadre to be prepared for such a scenario, he asserted that his party’s seat count and vote share increased in the recent Lok Sabha elections compared to five years ago.
Lalu Prasad, who remained as a staunch opponent of BJP and had never accepted any compromise stand in this regard, he recalled that “For quite some time, we have been the single largest party in the Bihar assembly. Unlike many others, we have never compromised on ideology.” He recalled his tenure and achievements, including the arrest of Lal Krishna Advani in 1990.
Union Minister Nityanand Rai, a former Bihar BJP president, accused the RJD supremo of hallucinating, using a colloquial Hindi phrase “Mungeri Lal ke hasin sapne.” “People have voted for Modi, who is now serving a record third term. Under his leadership and guided by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the NDA in Bihar will continue to defeat the opposition, which was disgraced during RJD’s rule,” he added.
However, sources in both RJD and NDA, who spoke on condition of anonymity, were unanimous in the opinion that Prasad had deftly tried to fish in troubled waters. In the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP fell short of majority and a new government was formed with the help of allies like JD(U), headed by Nitish Kumar, who is known as an unpredictable alliance partner.
