Lalu’s Anti-BJP Rally Was a Family Function, says Nitish Kumar

Patna: Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) president Nitish Kumar on Monday described the RJD's "BJP Bhagao, Desh Bachao" rally on August 27 here as a "family function" as there was nothing political in it.

"What was political in it? It was basically a family function. What should I say on that?" he said.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, Congress leader Gulam Nabi Azad and JD(U) rebel Sharad Yadav were among the heavyweights who had attended the rally.

"I heard (RJD chief) Lalu Prasad ji's oft repeated speech at the rally. He has said this over a dozen times from Patna and Ranchi as he is quite busy these days," he said.

Prasad had gone to Ranchi several times in recent past to appear before a CBI court in connection with a fodder scam case.

Asked about the crowd at the RJD's rally, Kumar said that it did not have any meaning keeping in mind the kind of rallies political parties hold in Bihar.

"We also saw the photoshopped version of the crowd of the RJD's rally," the chief minister said.

The JD(U) had nothing to do with media speculation on the party's joining Union cabinet, but it gave an opportunity to the "darling of the media" Lalu Prasad to speak on the issue, he said.

On the Srijan NGO scam, Kumar appealed to people including media persons to submit documents or convey information on the NGO to the CBI. If any one does not have faith on CBI probe on the scam, he or she is free to move court, he said.

Government funds were fraudulently transferred to other accounts in the scam, the chief minister alleged, adding the government is working on creating institutional mechanism to stop such practice.

On the flood situation in Bihar, he said that he would meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi soon regarding the damage caused by the floods. Stating that he is hopeful of getting desired support from the Centre, Kumar said, "I have talked to the Prime Minister. We have reviewed all the departments separately."

Kumar said he and the PM had also discussed about what kind of support and assistance the state government needs for reconstruction and rehabilitation. The PM has announced Rs 500 crore as immediate assistance to the state government after conducting an aerial survey of flood-hit areas of Bihar.