BJP wants to poison Lalu Prasad, alleges Rabri Devi
Patna, Apr 21: Former Bihar chief minister and RJD national vice-president Rabri Devi has accused the BJP of hatching a conspiring to poison her husband and party supremo Lalu Prasad, a charge dismissed by the saffron party as "baseless".
Prasad, who has been serving term in a Ranchi prison following his conviction in fodder scam cases, is currently undergoing treatment for multiple ailments at the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences in Jharkhand capital.
"The BJP government wants to kill Lalu ji by poisoning him in the hospital.
"If the Centre as well as the state governments of Bihar and Jharkhand want to kill him, if they want to kill the entire family of Lalu Prasad, they can do so, but their dictatorship will not be accepted," Rabri Devi said in a minute-long video clip posted on her Twitter handle Saturday.
The people of Bihar and Jharkhand will come out on the streets if anything untoward happens to Prasad, the senior RJD leader asserted.
"Tejashwi had gone to meet Prasad yesterday, but he was not allowed to do so. The autocratic government came out with an order (yesterday) as per which three persons, usually allowed to meet Lalu ji on Saturdays, were stopped from visiting him yesterday," said Rabri Devi.
The Jharkhand's Birsa Munda jail authorities barred visitors from meeting the incarcerated RJD chief, citing law and order problem.
As per jail norms, Prasad is allowed to meet a maximum of three visitors every Saturday at the Ranchi hospital.
Earlier on April 7, Leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly and the RJD chief's son, Tejashwi Yadav, had alleged he was not allowed to meet Prasad in jail by the "autocratic" BJP government in the neighbouring state.
Tejashwi, who was deputy chief minister in the Bihar's erstwhile Grand Alliance government, also claimed that "a conspiracy was being hatched against Lalu ji. He is in a hospital undergoing treatment amid security, but his room is being raided every day."
Reacting to Rabri Devi's allegations, Bihar BJP spokesman Nikhil Anand said the charges were "baseless and absurd" and that there was no threat to Lalu Prasad's life.
"It is the RJD politics, not Lalu Prasad, which is under threat after two rounds of elections. The Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) is going to be wiped out completely," he said.
Stating that Prasad has been given full security and adequate medical facilities, Anand said, "If they (Lalu's family) think that their legitimate rights are being violated, then they can approach the court to redress their grievances."
The Supreme Court, on April 10, had dismissed a bail plea of the RJD supremo in the multi-crore fodder scam cases.
A bench, headed by Chief Justice Rajan Gogoi, had rejected arguments by that he had served 24 months, saying "24 months was nothing compared to the 14-year sentence awarded to him".
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SP has ended contract with I-PAC due to fund constraints: Akhilesh Yadav
Lucknow (PTI): Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said his party has severed its association with the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) due to a lack of funds.
He dismissed speculations that the termination of contract was because of recent election results.
Addressing a press conference here, Yadav said the party had engaged I-PAC for a brief period ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections but could not continue the arrangement.
"Yes, we had an association. They worked with us for a few months, but we are not able to continue because we do not have that kind of funding," he said.
The I-PAC is a political consultancy firm known for managing major election campaigns across the country.
Election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor has also been associated with the organisation in the past and has worked with multiple parties, including the BJP and the Congress.
In a lighter vein, Yadav took a swipe at the ecosystem of political consultancies. "We thought that if we have to work with a 'winning agency', then there are several big companies."
He said that some people suggested conducting surveys, hiring another firm, keeping a social media company, and even engaging agencies for negative campaigning against other parties.
"There are one or two more companies whose names are not yet known. I can get those for you as well," Yadav said.
Yadav rejected the suggestion that the decision to end the deal was influenced by recent election outcomes in states such as West Bengal.
"There is no such thing. Do not ask questions based on baseless reports. That is not true," he said.
"This is not the reason for ending the agreement. We simply do not have enough funds. If you (the media) give us funds, we can hire another company," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.
