"I want to know why the Prime Minister has not spoken on Dadri," Lalu Prasad has said.
The BJP has launched an aggressive campaign in Bihar against Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad's remarks on eating beef. And in face of the concerted attack ahead of the coming elections, his party has requested Mr Prasad to stop commenting on the issue, sources in the RJD said.
On Saturday, reacting to the events in Dadri - where a man has been lynched on suspicion of storing and eating beef -- Mr Prasad had said Hindus eat beef too and the BJP should not communalise the issue.
"Don't Hindus eat beef too? It is the poor who are forced to eat beef. People eat (beef) outside the country too. What difference does it make?" he had said. "Anyway one should not eat beef as it leads to diseases," he had added.
Union minister and senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh joined issue with him the same day.
"Do you know what Laluji said? He said people eat beef, even in Hindu countries. I want to ask him -- does he want to say that beef should be eaten?" Mr Singh said at a rally in Bihar's Aurangabad.
On Monday, former deputy chief minister Sushil Modi said, "People like Lalu can even eat beef for votes. If we come to power in Bihar we will ban beef."
His announcement drew ridicule from the Congress, which is contesting the polls in alliance with Mr Prasad's RJD.
Senior leader Pramod Tiwari said, "How can Sushil Modi say he will ban beef in the state when it is already banned? How does a man who was Deputy Chief Minister not know this?"
Sources in the BJP say in the coming days, they will escalate the campaign against Lalu Prasad, hoping to strike a chord with Bihar's electorate. The five-phase polling in the state starts next week.
But already, the BJP's aggression has forced Mr Prasad to change tactics.
Asked about the BJP attack during the nomination of his elder son Tej Pratap, Mr Prasad said, "I want to know why the Prime Minister has not spoken on Dadri".