Showering praises on his younger son Tejashwi, Lalu Yadav said: “Frankly, I had never expected this from him. He safely steered the RJD’s boat. RJD has a bright future.”
In his first appearance in a long time, RJD supremo and one of India’s prominent politicians Lalu Prasad Yadav on Monday said he was alive because of his son Tejashwi Yadav and vowed not to hold back in the fight against the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
A visibly thinner Lalu Yadav, while often slurring his words at an event to mark 25 years of the party he founded, showered praises on his younger son Tejashwi Yadav, the leader of opposition in Bihar, for the way he led the party in last year’s Bihar election.
“Frankly, I had never expected this from him. He safely steered the RJD’s boat. RJD has a bright future,” said Lalu Yadav.
“But for them (wife Rabri Devi and Tejashwi), I would have perished in Ranchi.”
Once considered the kingmaker of the coalition politics, Lalu Yadav promised he would be back in the game soon, declaring: “We will die but we will not retreat.”
Mr Yadav, in his address, attacked the Narendra Modi government at the Centre and the Nitish Kumar administration in Bihar for their “many failures” and recalled his own political journey.
Mr Yadav, while not naming either the ruling BJP or Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said: “GST and demonetisation as also corona have created an economic crisis. Now, there is the threat of destroying the social fabric. After Ayodhya, some people are talking about Mathura.”
He said he was instrumental in making “five prime ministers” and his party was still strong with its members also in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
“We ensured that the poor and the weaker sections reached polling booths. They (his critics) got angry as the poor got their due,” the RJD leader remarked.
Mr Yadav also hit out at the Nitish Kumar government over “rampant corruption”, alleged mismanagement of the COVID-19 crisis and “murders” taking place in the state every day.
He promised RJD workers and leaders that he would overcome his illness and visit Bihar soon.
“I will come to Patna soon…not only Patna, I will mark my attendance in all districts of Bihar soon. Please don’t lose patience,” he said.
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