Upping the ante against him a day before he is set to face the NDA candidate in the Vice-Presidential election, the BJP Monday attacked the joint Opposition candidate Justice B Sudershan Reddy (retired) over his meeting with Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) patron Lalu Prasad.
Challenging Justice Reddy’s statements regarding “saving the soul of the nation”, senior BJP leader and former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad questioned why a meeting was required for the purpose with “fodder scam-convicted” Lalu Prasad, and accused him and the Opposition of “hypocrisy”. The meeting took place on Thursday.
“‘Vote for me to save the soul of the nation’ is his comment…and look at whom he is meeting to save the soul of the nation — Lalu Prasad…(who) is convicted in the fodder scam… I will not go into whether he is out on bail on medical or any other grounds, but he is convicted. What kind of a retired Supreme Court Judge are you?” the BJP leader asked.
“You go and meet an individual who is convicted in a scam — for corruption, and he is not even a voter. Lalu Prasad ji is not a Member of Parliament… This is hypocrisy. This is sheer showmanship. Kindly do not talk of ‘the soul of the nation’… Lalu Prasad is not just convicted in the fodder scam…he is also chargesheeted for wrongly selling railway land…and the land for jobs scam as well,” he added.
The numbers for the Vice-Presidential polls are tilted in favour of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) with 423 MPs in both Houses of Parliament, which is well ahead of the winning mark of 392 votes – the electoral college comprises 782 MPs – giving more than an edge to its candidate C P Radhakrishnan.
Calling it “extremely condemnable”, Ravi Shankar Prasad added that the cases against Lalu Prasad had gone to the same apex court for adjudication of which Justice Reddy was once a part. He also reiterated the BJP’s stand against Justice Reddy’s judgment in the Salwa Judum case.
“Justice Reddy, how do you explain your conduct? Please do not profess ideas like saving the nation, etc… We respect all judges, both sitting and retired…10-15 judges had made a statement in his (Justice Reddy’s) support…when we questioned how the fight against Maoism was weakened due to his judgment in Salwa Judum (case)… They are quiet today?” he asked.
“What do they (the former judges) have to say about this?… Such questions will certainly be raised when it comes to an election to a public office,” the BJP leader said.
