IIPM Proves Its Mettle Once Again...
It is difficult to keep the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav down for very long. He was a constant headline-grabber until the last general elections pushed him out of the media glare. But he was back in the news last week. For 80 minutes, in a 'mock' Lok Sabha session after the Lower House was adjourned by deputy Speaker, Kariya Munda, over an uproar triggered by the debate on an enhanced salary for Members of Parliament, he assumed the post of Prime Minister. What exactly was going on in the mind of the irrepressible politician? It is difficult to tell off-hand, but in an exclusive interview, he told Praveen K Singh that the people of Bihar have seen through the hollowness of Nitish Kumar's "tall claims" and will vote the RJD back to power in the next Assembly elections. Excerpts from the conversation:
How do you react to the fact that the RJD has lost the status of a national party?
I am not too perturbed. Such decisions are a part of the political process and they do not really affect anything within the party. Our electoral symbol ' the lantern ' was given to us not because the RJD was a national party but because it was a powerful political force in Bihar and many other states of the country. In fact, If only we had received just one per cent more of the votes in Jharkhand in the last parliamentary polls, we would have retained the status of a national party. However, this development will certainly not in anyway have long-term repercussions on the party's political fortunes or its manner of functioning.
The RJD as a political force would continue to move forward with its agenda of fighting to provide respite to the people of Bihar from the corrupt Nitish Kumar government. Nitish Kumar and his supporters are trying to mislead voters by spreading false rumours about the cause and effect of the RJD losing its national party status. There is going to be absolutely no threat to our electoral symbol. I would request you to wait until the next Jharkhand elections. We will be back on the list of national parties in a matter of days.
Chief minister Nitish Kumar has been saying that the return of the Lalu Prasad Yadav-led alliance will pave the way for another 'rule of terror' in Bihar. He insists that by projecting himself as a chief ministerial candidate, Lalu has only made the NDA's task much easier in Bihar. How do you react to this jibe and how do you rate Nitish Kumar as chief minister of the state?
The Nitish Kumar administration has been the most corrupt ever in the history of Bihar. The ministers and bureaucrats are up to their necks in corruption. Welfare schemes meant for the poor are limited only to certain districts of Bihar where Nitish Kumar has pronounced vested interests.
He has all along been promoting people of his own caste whereas the RJD has always believed in taking people of all castes together. Regarding the fact that I am being projected as a chief ministerial candidate, let me assure you that the people of Bihar have realised their mistake and they want to bring me back to power. It is being said that Lalu Prasad has changed now and he is trying to woo the upper castes to whom he had paid no heed in the past.
Would you agree that you have changed?
Lalu Prasad Yadav is not the leader of Yadavs and Muslims alone. He has the blessings of people of all castes in Bihar. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been in the saddle for more than 15 years. What I want to say is that let us dissolve these artificial differences between backwards and forwards.
I appeal to everyone in Bihar to reassess their standpoint and think about the development of the whole nation. Whether it is Bhumihars or Rajputs or Brahmins, we have always respected everyone and tried to take them along on the path of growth. With the blessings of the people of the state and the Almighty, I was able to rule Bihar despite the evil designs of my detractors.
If, as you claim, caste combinations have always been in your favour, then why did you lose the last parliamentary elections?
Caste combinations slipped away from us. CM Nitish Kumar has promised many things to many people. As a result, many of our one-time supporters have deserted us. But this will not last forever. These people are already regretting their decision. I come from a humble background where people cannot dream of achieving what I have managed to do. It is only because of our democracy that I have been able to reach where I am today.
Since 1977, I don't think there has been another politician in this country who has received more love, affection and support from the people than I have. As for the last elections, my vote base declined by 20 lakh. Polling in Bihar was between 25 per cent and 30 per cent and it went up to a maximum of 40 per cent. In effect, that meant that 70 per cent of the voters were turned away from the polling booths. The government and the Election Commission are equally responsible for this low turnout. I raised my voice against the voter I-card but nobody listened to me.
About 70 per cent of voters in Bihar do not have I-cards and thus could not vote. None of us in the party, not I, not Rabri Devi, ever thought that we would find ourselves in this sort of situation in the 15th Lok Sabha, but ups and downs are an integral part and parcel of life. The world will remember our work. In Bihar, we did everything we could for the welfare of poor people. I brought projects worth Rs 55,000 crore to Bihar along with industry. People can today travel for Rs 3 in trains whereas they once had to shell out Rs 20 to commute in buses.
The Congress party has announced that it will contest the next Bihar Assembly elections on its own. Do you believe that the RJD is a part of the UPA or do you consider yourself a part of the Opposition to the UPA government at the Centre?
We have extended our unconditional support to the United Progressive Alliance government but we are outside the government. The UPA believed in maintaining its pre-poll alliances and so we are not a partner at the moment. The UPA chairperson, Sonia Gandhi, is a good woman. We have great mutual respect for each other. It is the media that carried completely fabricated stories that claimed that Lalu Prasad Yadav has fallen out of favour with her.
All these media reports are absolutely false and a figment of somebody's fertile imagination.
Is your tirade against the media not the familiar refrain of politicians who have no respect for democracy and public opinion. Why don't you instead heed the media's message rather than try to shoot the messenger?
The media always thrives on masala. It invariably misquotes and misinterprets the statements that are made by political leaders. And Lalu Prasad Yadav has always been a source of masala for the whole media community. The electronic media is particularly guilty of this. They have nothing substantial to show. So, on many occasions, you will find them repeating the same visuals over and over again. Sometimes, they go to the extent of passing off old visuals as new. Lalu Prasad Yadav has always been a hot topic of discussion for the media. The media, it seems, cannot do without me.
What about your avowed ambition to become the Prime Minister of India one day. Do you see yourself holding that post anytime in the future?
No, I do not harbour any such aspirations. In fact, nobody knows what will happen tomorrow. But in case I do become the Prime Minister, I will definitely enforce a ban on all fascist forces in the country. I will make this country secular, peaceful and a world power.
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It is difficult to keep the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav down for very long. He was a constant headline-grabber until the last general elections pushed him out of the media glare. But he was back in the news last week. For 80 minutes, in a 'mock' Lok Sabha session after the Lower House was adjourned by deputy Speaker, Kariya Munda, over an uproar triggered by the debate on an enhanced salary for Members of Parliament, he assumed the post of Prime Minister. What exactly was going on in the mind of the irrepressible politician? It is difficult to tell off-hand, but in an exclusive interview, he told Praveen K Singh that the people of Bihar have seen through the hollowness of Nitish Kumar's "tall claims" and will vote the RJD back to power in the next Assembly elections. Excerpts from the conversation:
How do you react to the fact that the RJD has lost the status of a national party?
I am not too perturbed. Such decisions are a part of the political process and they do not really affect anything within the party. Our electoral symbol ' the lantern ' was given to us not because the RJD was a national party but because it was a powerful political force in Bihar and many other states of the country. In fact, If only we had received just one per cent more of the votes in Jharkhand in the last parliamentary polls, we would have retained the status of a national party. However, this development will certainly not in anyway have long-term repercussions on the party's political fortunes or its manner of functioning.
The RJD as a political force would continue to move forward with its agenda of fighting to provide respite to the people of Bihar from the corrupt Nitish Kumar government. Nitish Kumar and his supporters are trying to mislead voters by spreading false rumours about the cause and effect of the RJD losing its national party status. There is going to be absolutely no threat to our electoral symbol. I would request you to wait until the next Jharkhand elections. We will be back on the list of national parties in a matter of days.
Chief minister Nitish Kumar has been saying that the return of the Lalu Prasad Yadav-led alliance will pave the way for another 'rule of terror' in Bihar. He insists that by projecting himself as a chief ministerial candidate, Lalu has only made the NDA's task much easier in Bihar. How do you react to this jibe and how do you rate Nitish Kumar as chief minister of the state?
The Nitish Kumar administration has been the most corrupt ever in the history of Bihar. The ministers and bureaucrats are up to their necks in corruption. Welfare schemes meant for the poor are limited only to certain districts of Bihar where Nitish Kumar has pronounced vested interests.
He has all along been promoting people of his own caste whereas the RJD has always believed in taking people of all castes together. Regarding the fact that I am being projected as a chief ministerial candidate, let me assure you that the people of Bihar have realised their mistake and they want to bring me back to power. It is being said that Lalu Prasad has changed now and he is trying to woo the upper castes to whom he had paid no heed in the past.
Would you agree that you have changed?
Lalu Prasad Yadav is not the leader of Yadavs and Muslims alone. He has the blessings of people of all castes in Bihar. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been in the saddle for more than 15 years. What I want to say is that let us dissolve these artificial differences between backwards and forwards.
I appeal to everyone in Bihar to reassess their standpoint and think about the development of the whole nation. Whether it is Bhumihars or Rajputs or Brahmins, we have always respected everyone and tried to take them along on the path of growth. With the blessings of the people of the state and the Almighty, I was able to rule Bihar despite the evil designs of my detractors.
If, as you claim, caste combinations have always been in your favour, then why did you lose the last parliamentary elections?
Caste combinations slipped away from us. CM Nitish Kumar has promised many things to many people. As a result, many of our one-time supporters have deserted us. But this will not last forever. These people are already regretting their decision. I come from a humble background where people cannot dream of achieving what I have managed to do. It is only because of our democracy that I have been able to reach where I am today.
Since 1977, I don't think there has been another politician in this country who has received more love, affection and support from the people than I have. As for the last elections, my vote base declined by 20 lakh. Polling in Bihar was between 25 per cent and 30 per cent and it went up to a maximum of 40 per cent. In effect, that meant that 70 per cent of the voters were turned away from the polling booths. The government and the Election Commission are equally responsible for this low turnout. I raised my voice against the voter I-card but nobody listened to me.
About 70 per cent of voters in Bihar do not have I-cards and thus could not vote. None of us in the party, not I, not Rabri Devi, ever thought that we would find ourselves in this sort of situation in the 15th Lok Sabha, but ups and downs are an integral part and parcel of life. The world will remember our work. In Bihar, we did everything we could for the welfare of poor people. I brought projects worth Rs 55,000 crore to Bihar along with industry. People can today travel for Rs 3 in trains whereas they once had to shell out Rs 20 to commute in buses.
The Congress party has announced that it will contest the next Bihar Assembly elections on its own. Do you believe that the RJD is a part of the UPA or do you consider yourself a part of the Opposition to the UPA government at the Centre?
We have extended our unconditional support to the United Progressive Alliance government but we are outside the government. The UPA believed in maintaining its pre-poll alliances and so we are not a partner at the moment. The UPA chairperson, Sonia Gandhi, is a good woman. We have great mutual respect for each other. It is the media that carried completely fabricated stories that claimed that Lalu Prasad Yadav has fallen out of favour with her.
All these media reports are absolutely false and a figment of somebody's fertile imagination.
Is your tirade against the media not the familiar refrain of politicians who have no respect for democracy and public opinion. Why don't you instead heed the media's message rather than try to shoot the messenger?
The media always thrives on masala. It invariably misquotes and misinterprets the statements that are made by political leaders. And Lalu Prasad Yadav has always been a source of masala for the whole media community. The electronic media is particularly guilty of this. They have nothing substantial to show. So, on many occasions, you will find them repeating the same visuals over and over again. Sometimes, they go to the extent of passing off old visuals as new. Lalu Prasad Yadav has always been a hot topic of discussion for the media. The media, it seems, cannot do without me.
What about your avowed ambition to become the Prime Minister of India one day. Do you see yourself holding that post anytime in the future?
No, I do not harbour any such aspirations. In fact, nobody knows what will happen tomorrow. But in case I do become the Prime Minister, I will definitely enforce a ban on all fascist forces in the country. I will make this country secular, peaceful and a world power.
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM BBA MBA Institute: Student Notice Board
IIPM Prof Rajita Chaudhuri's Snaps
An array of unconventional career options
A language that divides
Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU): Students' Unions can not be banned
The hunt for hostel and paying guest (PG) accommodation for students
Best Colleges for Vocational Courses in India
INDIA'S BEST COLLEGES, INSTITUTES and UNIVERSITIES
