BJP and JD-U accuse Lalu of conducting ‘darbar’ in hospital, flouting jail rules

RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav is in the news yet again for wrong reasons. A picture of him talking over the phone with three more people beside him has gone viral. He can be seen in the paying ward of the Raihan Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), where he’s lodged for the past few months now after his conviction in the Fodder Scam. He’s repeatedly been accused of holding Janta Darbar despite being jailed.

The BJP has accused the former Bihar CM of violating the jail manuals, while the Janta Dal-United (JD-U) wants the Election Commission to take note of this.

Bihar is preparing for the Assembly polls in October and November this year and a frenzy of activities have already started in the political arena of the state. In all this Lalu continues to call the shots, and, as a result, many politicians and ticket seekers have been reaching out to him.

The BJP has also accused the Jharkhand government of favouritism, saying Lalu is getting such reliefs because the RJD is part of the ruling coalition. Talking to The Daily Guardian, BJP spokesperson Nikhil Anand said, “This is gross violation of the jail norms. There is favouritism.” He, however, said that the Congress leaders have “deliberately clicked the photo with Lalu” and released it. “The Congress knows it well that if it has to revive its lost fortune in the state of Bihar, they’ll have to systematically eliminate Lalu Prasad Yadav and that’s why they are doing this,” Anand added.

Going a step further, JD-U spokesperson Rajeev Ranjan said, “It’s their government in Jharkhand and they’re misusing the power. Such allegations have been made about Lalu from the very beginning. Now he’s trying to run the show from the jail and even managing ticket distribution from the jail. The Election Commission of India should take cognizance of the matter.”

 Recently another video of Lalu Prasad had gone Viral on his birthday where he was seen cutting the cake and talking to the family members over video call. The RJD has rubbished the allegations and blamed the BJP for the conspiracy. Shakti Yadav, a senior leader and spokesperson of the RJD, said, “The BJP is the biggest conspirator in the world. Look what they did in Madhya Pradesh and what they’re doing in Rajasthan. They’re experts in hatching conspiracies. I don’t see any violation of the jail manual if he talks to his family over the phone.”

 Lalu has been accused of calling the shots from jail and that›s the reason why, sources say, several leaders from the state have been paying him a visit in the paying ward of RIMS.