Banka, Bihar:
Playing the minority card, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad questioned Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's secular credentials alleging that he was ignoring persecution of Muslim youths of the state and had become a 'parrot' of the RSS and BJP.
"The chief minister is behaving like a pet parrot of the RSS and BJP by turning blind eye to the persecution of Muslim youths in the name of being terrorists by several states and their police," Mr Prasad said at a public meeting in Banka district during his 'Parivartan yatra'.
"Mr Kumar is a parrot of the RSS and BJP and has allowed the Sangh Pariwar to fan its activities much to the detriment of the minority community," Mr Prasad said. Accusing Mr Kumar with only lodging token protest on arrest of the youths from the state, he said that the state government failed to assist aggrieved families to fight cases of their members arrested by the police of other states on alleged terror charges.
"Why did not the state government register cases against the police of other states for arresting Muslim youths from their homes in Darbhanga and Sitamarhi districts on fabricated charge of being terrorists?" the RJD supremo asked.
Mr Prasad also said that the ongoing protests against the chief minister was a reflection of the government's performance over the past seven years.
He claimed he would catalyse the resentment of the people against the ruling coalition to throw it out of power at the hustings.