Lalu Prasad Yadav Should Not Forget He is Out on Bail, Says Ram Vilas Paswan

Patna: Reacting angrily to the 'weathercock' jibe at him, LJP Chief and Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan today told RJD Chief Lalu Prasad not to forget that he is out on bail in the fodder scam case in which he was convicted by a designed CBI court to five years imprisonment last year. (Read: In Bihar Politics, Old Friends Have New Names for Each Other)

"Prasad should be mindful of the fact that he is out on bail in the fodder scam," the Lok Janshakti Party chief said.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal chief had made repeated barbs at Mr Paswan including comparing him to a 'weathercock' for choosing allies to serve his political ends.

Mr Paswan retorted to this by saying that if he was a 'weather scientist', then Mr Prasad would be an 'expert of jails', referring to the latter's arrest on a number of occasions during his long political career.

Mr Paswan, the Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister in the NDA government at the Centre, took strong exception to the RJD supremo attacking his son Chirag Paswan, who is a Lok Sabha MP from Jamui and said that it does not behove well on the senior leader to target a young leader.

Mr Prasad is too senior to Chirag to attack him politically, the LJP supremo said and asked the former to leave that job to his son Tejaswi Yadav.

The union minister also took potshot at former chief minister Nitish Kumar for keeping mum over the RJD supremo's snide remarks that he could not have kicked away the senior JD(U) leader when he came to sit on his feet, referring to Mr Kumar forging an alliance with the RJD to take on the BJP in

"It's a highly objectionable remark which Mr Kumar should have countered vigorously, but he is shamelessly keeping mum over it," Mr Paswan said.

"Mr Prasad is consciously abusing the senior JD(U) leader, but the latter has no choice but to keep quiet for the sake of sticking to power in Bihar," he said.

The LJP supremo, who actively campaigned for the NDA candidates on the final day of electioneering for August 21 bypolls for ten assembly seats in Bihar, claimed that the NDA candidates will sweep the polls on all ten seats to replicate its performance in the general elections three months ago.

"A strong wave is sweeping Bihar in favour of the NDA and the results will prove yet again on August 25 when the BJP-led alliance goes on to win all 10 seats," Mr Paswan said.