New Delhi:
Rajniti Prasad has said he is proud of himself and has no regrets. And he emphatically says that the chaos he started in the Rajya Sabha yesterday was not orchestrated or planned, but "a spontaneous work of myself." So, he says, there shall be no apology.
When Mr Prasad rose a little before 11 pm as the last speaker in a Rajya Sabha debate that seemed headed nowhere, he seemed very aptly named. The RJD MP's name loosely translates to "the fruit of politics"; the Lokpal debate by then had been overwhelmed by political shenanigans.
Many watching the debate on television looked askance as the white-haired man with scraggy beard in white kurta pyjama and a pullover started to get shrill. In the next few minutes, he would make a prominent place for himself in a rather ignominious chapter of Indian parliamentary democracy. And on social media trending lists through today.
In hindsight, a curious glance through his official bio-data is revealing; it proudly lists his having "received awards for roles in drama" as the first among his personal achievements. He lived up to that reputation last night. For as he finished his speech and Minister of State in the PMO V Narayanasamy rose to reply to the debate, Rajniti Prasad was out of his seat and shuffling across to the minister's; he crossed the Prime Minister on the way, but looked right nor left. And then, even as the minister was speaking, tugged at some papers on the desk, tore them and threw them in the Well of the House. All this while he raised slogans of "withdraw the Bill" in a flat mumble.
(Read: Lalu's MP tears paper in Rajya Sabha during Lokpal Debate)It took a bit of a wrestle to disengage Mr Prasad and steer him in the direction of his seat and the RJD MP even waved unsteadily as he walked back. He then spent the rest of the session ambling around again, sloganeering and ignoring requests from the Chair to sit. Everyone by now wanted to know who this Elder from Lalu Prasad Yadav's RJD was.
It was also ironic that on a day dominated by eminent lawyers scoring acute points, chaos and drama was also brought to the Rajya Sabha by a member of the legal fraternity. Mr Prasad is a practising lawyer at the Patna civil courts and has, in fact, been Lalu Yadav's counsel in fodder scam cases. He hails from Munger in Bihar and has a bachelor of law degree from the Patna Law College.
Fame, or notoriety, depending on who shall tell the story, came to Rajniti Prasad late. Lalu Yadav gifted the 65-year-old his Rajya Sabha seat in April 2006; he has all of four months left of his term in the House. Mr Prasad plays the flute, is said to be a feted athlete. He says he has been to jail in the 1960s for participating in anti-Congress agitations and claims that he has "continuously worked for social justice under the guidance of Shri Lalu Prasad."