Two days after his conviction on December 23, Lalu Prasad Yadav had said that his Twitter handle will be operated by his office in consultation with his family until the time he is in jail. (Source: Express photo)
Soon after Rashtriya Janata Party (RJD) chief and former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav was sentenced to three-and-a-half years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) in connection with a second fodder scam case worth Rs 89.27 lakh, a tweet went out from his official handle, saying Yadav would die happily fixing himself for social justice, harmony and equality.
“Rather than practicing BJP’s Simple Rule – “Follow us or We will Fix you”. I will die happily fixing myself for Social justice, harmony & equality,” the tweet said. Lalu also tweeted a letter written by him, which he said was in remembrance of injustice and inequality meted out towards him.
In his letter, Lalu talked about the rights of Dalits, SCs and STs. “When I was a child, we ‘lower caste’ people were not supposed to even hold our head high in front of those belonging to ‘upper castes’. I saw a ray of change when several youths joined the Jai Prakash Narayan Movement. I was one of them who jumped into the struggle against the rule, autocracy, and corruption. I was even jailed during the emergency period. That spark has ignited a fire now and will always remind people to fight against these atrocities (sic).”
Lalu then mentions the struggles he went through after joining the movement. “I was aware that it will not be easy since the day I jumped into the movement. I knew I will be jailed, abused and wrongly blamed, but I was sure that my personal problems will make way easy for the poor and marginalised.” Click here to read the full letter
आप सबों के नाम ये पत्र लिख रहा हूँ और याद कर रहा हूँ अन्याय और ग़ैर बराबरी के खिलाफ.. pic.twitter.com/PMTrOU8GB8
— Lalu Prasad Yadav (@laluprasadrjd) January 6, 2018
Two days after his conviction on December 23, the RJD supremo had said that his Twitter handle will be operated by his office in consultation with his family until the time he is in jail. “Dear friends! While in jail, My Twitter handle shall be operated by my office in consultation with the family. I shall speak my mind through visitors. The fight to preserve the Constitution & protect the rights of vulnerable groups shall go on,” Lalu had tweeted.
Dear friends! While in jail, My Twitter handle shall be operated by my office in consultation with family. I shall speak my mind through visitors. The fight to preserve the Constitution & protect the rights of vulnerable groups shall go on.
— Lalu Prasad Yadav (@laluprasadrjd) December 25, 2017
CBI court judge Shiv Pal Singh, who had convicted Prasad, along with 10 others on December 23, also imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh on him for two cases in the scam. He was fined Rs 5 lakh for each case, failing which he would serve another six months in jail, a CBI counsel said.