RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Sunday gave a call to overthrow the Nitish Kumar Government in Bihar which, he claimed, had failed to fulfil the wishes of the people. He was addressing the much-hyped “Chetawani Rally” here, which was a political show of strength two years after his party’s severe defeat in the state, and it saw an impressive gathering.The Opposition, however, termed it as a “rail rally” and charged the Railway Minister with misusing the facilities of his department for the rally. Lalu had booked 35 special trains to the venue to ferry his supporters from different corners of the state.Lalu termed the Nitish Kumar Government as “incompetent” and said all its tall claims have been exposed. “Jitna bhi bajayen sushashan ka dhol, Nitish Kumar ka khul gaya hai pol (No matter how much he trumpets about good governance, Nitish Kumar has been exposed).” While stressing that kidnapping, rape and murder have become the order of the day, he urged the masses to overthrow the Government without waiting for five years.Lalu also made an attempt to check the erosion of his Muslim support base and tried to woo sections of the upper castes. While he devoted a major portion of his speech to the latest expose regarding the communal carnage in Gujarat, he favoured 10 per cent reservation for the poor among the upper castes.He used the Gujarat riots expose to attack Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and caution Muslims. “If Nitish Kumar is secular, then why is he mum over Gujarat? Why is he not demanding the arrest of Narendra Modi?” Lalu declared and charged that Kumar was sitting in the lap of forces who had unleashed the mass murder of Muslims.Urging the masses to give him yet another opportunity, he promised to turn it around like he had done in the case of the Railways. Talking about his achievements in the Railways, Lalu said he had given a host of projects to the state that will generate employment. “I have nursed the railways, not looted it. Similarly I will nurse Bihar,” he said. Though a good portion of the gathering appeared to be Yadavs, Muslims were also present. Lalu, however, claimed that people from all sections of the society had come for the rally and he made those other than Yadavs raise their hand. He resorted to this to counter “allegations” by his rivals that only Yadavs will come for the rally. The brunt, however, was borne by common rail passengers as several long-distance trains were running far behind schedule due to the special trains given for the rally.
