After the conviction of RJD boss Lalu Prasad who was lodged in Birsa Munda jail in Ranchi on Saturday his younger son Tejashwi Prasad Yadav returned here and hours later held an emergency meeting on Tuesday with all senior leaders of the party, MPs and legislators where he told them the message of the party supremo. Lalu has asked the party men to remain united and only intensify the struggle for which the plan would be charted out by Tejashwi.
From the jail, where the former CM is being treated as an ordinary prisoner and denied any privilege, Lalu sent out a message to the party’s rank and file through a few visitors who were allowed to meet him on Monday. He sent the message, “Gaon ghar ja log. Party ke barhao. Eehan sab theek ba” (You go to villages and peoples’ homes. Work for extension of the party. Here (in jail) everything is fine.) As per the jail manual Lalu could meet only three visitors in weekdays.
Senior leader Raghubansh Prasad Singh said after the meeting, “2018 will be the year of our struggle and fight against injustice to the poor and downtrodden. We will root out BJP.” The next meeting will be held on January 6, three days after the announcement of the quantum of punishment to Lalu by the special CBI court. The meeting would be chaired by former CM Rabri Devi.
In political circles the move to convene meeting on Tuesday is seen as the attempt by the former Deputy CM to tighten his grip over the party and run the party as defacto supremo in absence of Lalu. The Tuesday meeting is also viewed as a move to allay any suspicion in the party and outside about the authority of Tejashwi who was declared as Lalu’s heir at the party’s national convention.
Later Tejashwi told media that there was absolutely no suspense or question mark on his leadership. “Everybody is with us. Nobody ever raised question (on my leadership). The proposal to make me heir of Lalu Prasad was brought by senior most leader Jagdanand Singh at the national convention. Some outsiders are spreading rumours against me Tejashwi told party rank and file that party would further strengthen after the new developments. “Lalu is the name of an ideology.
Even if he is in jail he will continue guiding us and leading the struggle. We will not be demoralized and continue moving forward on the thorny path of truth,” he said.
In the backdrop of Lalu’s claim that he was following the lines of Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela, his son said, “If Lalu gets weak nobody will be left to safeguard the constitution.”
Tejashwi blamed BJP as well as Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for hatching conspiracy against Lalu and his family. “A dirty politics has been played against us but we have full faith in the judiciary and confident to get justice. The Government is misusing the central agencies against us. This is very dangerous precedence. What will happen when a non-BJP Government will come and start action against NDA leaders,” he alleged.
He also claimed that entire nation was feeling that injustice has been meted out to RJD chief and people across the country see to Lalu with the hope that he would take forward battle against RSS and BJP because he is the one leader who is speaking against the fascist forces.