FILE photo: LJP chief and Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan (left) and RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav
With by-elections round the corner, the political mega contest in Bihar is heating up with much name-calling. In the latest edition, Lalu Prasad Yadav has called friend-turned-foe
Ram Vilas Paswan a "weathercock" for having switched sides and allied with the BJP.
Mr Yadav's observation that he has "not seen a weathercock like Paswan," came soon after Mr Paswan's son Chirag Paswan had called him a "retired comedian" at another public rally in the state.
Mr Paswan is a union minister at the Centre, having crossed over to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance before the national elections held this year. The alliance with
Narendra Modi's BJP is credited to the 32-year-old Chirag's efforts.
This is Mr Paswan's second stint in the NDA, but for years in between he was Lalu Yadav's faithful ally. At the Chhapra rally on Sunday, where Mr Yadav hit out at Mr Paswan for switching sides, he had by his side Nitish Kumar of the Janata Dal (United), his own newest foe-turned-friend.
(Also Read: Bhai-Bhai - Lalu on The New Partnership With Nitish)Mr Paswan has shrugged off Mr Yadav's charge of opportunistic politics, alleging that his party, the RJD or Rashtriya Janata Dal's alliance with Nitish Kumar is the best example of that.
"Instead of calling me a 'weathercock', Prasad should explain why he has joined forces with Nitish Kumar who he had been denouncing with the choicest words for the past 20 years," the LJP leader said in Patna.
His son Chirag Paswan said, "Lalu always brings down the level of politics every time elections are nearing. He thinks that people are getting entertained. Lalu is a retired comedian. The public does not want to hear it any more. The state wants development. Lalu is a master at dramatics."