Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, Lalu Prasad abandoned Jayaprakash Narayan's ideology for power: Amit Shah

SITAB DIARA: Attacking CM Nitish Kumar and RJD chief Lalu Prasad, Union home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday launched a veiled attack on the two celebrated proteges of Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan, saying those who followed him throughout their entire life are now sitting in the "lap" of Congress for power.
Addressing a rally at JP's birthplace, Lala Tola at Sitab Diara village on the Bihar-UP border in Saran district to mark the 120th birth anniversary of the socialist icon, Shah, in an apparent dig at CM Nitish, said those "who change allies five times only to be stuck to the chair of chief minister are not true disciples of JP."
Launching the veiled attack on Nitish and Lalu, who embarked on their political journey through JP's Sampoorn Kranti (total revolution) movement, Shah said: "Many students, like Sushil Kumar Modi here, took part in the agitation in Bihar in 1974. Sushil Ji is a product of that movement only. However, some people who came into politics by taking the name of JP and rose from his movement, have abandoned his principles, and today they are sitting in the lap of Congress."
Shah: Centre to set up JP research centre
"This is not the path shown by JP; it is not the politics based on his ideologies. JP never did anything for power and dedicated his entire life to ideologies. But today, those who do politics in his name have changed sides five times for power, only for remaining the chief minister of Bihar," Shah said in an apparent dig at the chequered political journey of Bihar CM Nitish Kumar.
Shah asked the audience: "People of Bihar must decide whether they will support the BJP government led by PM Modi, who is following the path shown by JP or the government which deviates from the path of JP and forms alliances by compromising with ideologies only for power."
Shah also credited PM Modi for the 15- feet high statue unveiled by him at the JP memorial building, which has also been declared a "national monument" by the Modi- government. "PM Modi had vowed to install a life-size statue of JP by bringing a proposal in the union cabinet and today that vow has been fulfilled on Jayaprakash's 120th birth anniversary," Shah said.
Shah said the Centre will also build a research centre there. "After the formation of the R & D centre here, the students will be able to research the principles of JP and his work done for rural development," he said.
Shah dedicated a major portion of his speech in heaping praises on JP. "After independence, when the time came to take power, JP joined the Sarvodaya Movement like a sanyasi along with Vinoba Bhave. He devoted his entire life to the landless, poor, downtrodden and backward people," the union home minister said.