In a bid to fight his way back out of political wilderness, Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Prasad on Wednesday addressed his first major rally in Bihar in a decade during which he called Chief Minister Nitish Kumar a "dictator" whose "downfall" has begun and a "parrot" of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Sixty-five-year-old Prasad, who is seeking popular support to regain power, spewed venom on his bete noire on a wide range of issues and said the beginning of the end of the national Democratic Alliance government in Bihar had started due to "growing disgust of the people with their present rulers".
The former chief Minister, whose RJD ruled Bihar for 15 uniterrupted years till 2005 before being decimated by Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal-United-BJP alliance, was addressing the 'Parivartan Rally' at the historic Gandhi Maidan here in a show of strength. A large crowd gahered at the venue where the temperature soared past 40 degree celsius.
"Nitish Kumar is behaving like a parrot sitting in the lap of the BJP and the RSS. He is the parrot of the RSS. Their downfall will be because of their own deeds. Their downfall has started and nobody will come to save them at all," he said.
The ebullient RJD strongman had travelled across the state asking people to join the rally, which has sparked political mudslinging between the RJD and the ruling NDA. The rally was also utilised for putting the spotlight on Lalu's two sons Tej Pratap and Tejaswi Yadav.
"Nitish Kumar is a dictator. I will throw him out of power," he said to a thunderous applause, as he peppered his speech with his rustic humour.
Contrary to tall claims of the chief minister, the people of Bihar are reeling under surging crime graph and corruption during the NDA rule and they have started expressing their disgust with their rulers by way of protest throughout the state, Prasad said.
He began by straightaway attacking Nitish, saying his secular credentials will always remain under scanner despite his proclamations to contrary. Claiming to be a true torch bearer of secularism, Prasad said that he will not allow the communal forces to wrest power at 'Hastinapur' (at the Centre) so long as there remained even one drop of blood in his body.
