Patna:
At his grand comeback rally in Patna today, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad slammed Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and said "no one can save his government because everyone is dissatisfied with it." He also called Mr Kumar, who is the JD(U) chief, a "parrot" of the RSS and the BJP.
When asked why the meeting of his supporters was called the "
parivartan" rally, he said this was because it was aimed at bringing the "
parivartan" or change that the people of Bihar were seeking.
The RJD chief constantly urged the crowd to give him another chance to form the government. Throughout the speech he also kept using invectives for his rivals. He even singled out two Janata Dal (United) spokesmen.
Hitting back at the RJD chief, the Bihar Chief Minister dubbed him as a man who speaks too much. "Lalu is
badbola (one who speaks too much). We don't comment on people who speak too much. There are some people, who are in the habit of speaking something or the other all the time. I don't reply to them," he told reporters.
At the mega rally, Lalu also introduced his two sons - Tejpratap and Tejasvi - to his supporters. While the RJD maintains that the rally was aimed at bringing change in Bihar, Lalu's rivals allege that it was an excuse to install his sons in positions of prominence in the RJD.
Speaking to NDTV at the rally, his sons said the young generation of Bihar wants the RJD chief to be the next chief minister. They also said they would help their father bring the "parivartan" or change that Bihar wanted. Both Tejpratap and Tejasvi were actively involved in organising the rally.
While Tejpratap runs an automobile business in Aurangabad, Tejasvi is a former cricketer who was once also part of the Delhi Daredevils IPL team. During the 2010 Assembly elections, Tejasvi had campaigned with senior party leaders.
Even though it was one of the least controversial rallies by Lalu, photographs of criminals and convicted former MP Sahabuddin still dominated party posters.
The turnout at the rally venue, Gandhi Maidan, was nearly 75 thousand strong. Though an impressive number given the scorching heat, Lalu's previous rallies have seen bigger numbers. What's to be noted is that very few women and Muslims were in attendance. Muslims, who constitute 17 per cent of Bihar's population, form a sizeable proportion of the votebank for Nitish Kumar.