Lalu Yadav: “Nitish Kumar is finished, BJP set Bihar ablaze”

Hitting out at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav blamed Kumar for the communal clashes which broke out in several parts in Bihar over the past week. He also blamed BJP for fanning communal sentiments across the state.

News agency ANI quoted Lalu as saying, “Nitish Kumar is now finished. There are riots and incidents of violence all over Bihar. BJP has set the whole state ablaze.” Lalu was speaking to reporters outside AIIMS, where he has been brought from Ranchi for treatment.

Adding to Lalu’s views, senior RJD leader Shivanand Tiwari said that Nitish Kumar’s image of Sushasan Babu has received a severe dent ever since he joined the NDA camp.

“BJP has made him a toothless tiger. He cannot take decisions. Law and order situation in the state has gone from bad to worse but no one raise the issue of Jungle Raj now,” he said, while criticising media for being partisan and maintaining silence over burning issues.

“Right from Samastipur to Nalanda, Bajrang Dal has been actively mobilising Hindus along communal lines during Ram Navami, but the state government did not have courage to stop them as they had blessings from the top RSS leaders,” he added.

It is important to mention that in Nalanda—which is the native district of CM Nitish Kumar—two communities clashed over taking out a religious procession on Tuesday. PTI reported that 20 people, including four security personnel were injured in the clash.

“People from both sides indulged in heavy stone-pelting in Silao block of the district following a dispute over the route of a Ram Navami procession, and police had to resort to a mild use of force besides firing tear gas shells to quell the mobs,” Sudhir Kumar Porika, Superintendent of Police, Nalanda, was quoted as saying by PTI.

Not only Nalanda but districts like Bhagalpur, Aurangabad and Samastipur witnessed communal clashes since Ram Navami last Sunday. According to media reports, at least three FIRs have been lodged and 150 people have been arrested in connection with violence in Aurangabad during Ram Navami celebrations on March 25 and 26.

Bihar Police has also set up two special investigation teams to probe the violence.

The RJD and Congress have blamed BJP for orchestrating and spreading communal violence. Two parties have also demanded the arrest of BJP’s Aurangabad MP Sushil Kumar Singh, who reportedly said that “there is a reaction to an action” on March 26, following which communal clashes erupted.