Lucknow: Attacking Lalu Prasad for going to Muzaffarnagar riot relief camps a few days after Rahul Gandhi's visit, SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav on Tuesday said the RJD leader was a sycophant who was 'licking the feet' of Congress leaders.
"Despite all help to riot victims by the SP government, everyone is trying to play politics on the issue. Some persons (Lalu) reached there immediately after being released from jail. He had said he will not allow Mulayam to become Prime Minister in the past. He has said the same thing now. What's new in it?" he said while addressing party workers on the death anniversary of SP leader Rajnarain.
Read here: Last Muzaffarnagar camp vacated, 483 families move out
"Wo Congress ke talve chaat rahe hain. Uski chaploosi kar rahe hain" (He is licking feet of Congress. He is behaving like a sycophant)," Mulayam alleged.
He accused Lalu of siding with different parties to grab power. "The SP men cannot leave their policies and are not (trying to) divert from them. We did not leave our policies for grabbing power like Lalu, who had sided with even BJP for power," the Samajwadi Party chief charged.
On the Muzaffarnagar issue, he said the SP government had tried its best to compensate whatever damage was incurred during the riots.
"After independence, so many riots took place. No government has ever helped riot victims the way in which SP government has helped Muzaffarnagar riot victims. We have distributed Rs 90 crore...The opposition parties know this but are playing politics on the issue," he said.
Asserting that there were good chances of catapulting the party to power at the Centre in the coming Lok Sabha polls, Mulayam asked party workers to reach out to the people.
"You all should go to the people, who have supreme power. By ignoring them, you cannot make me Prime Minister. In politics, power is worshipped. No heed is paid to the weak. So, try to increase power of the party," he said.
Holding that BJP would have some gains in Lok Sabha polls due to Narendra Modi, Mulayam said despite this, it would not be able to form government as no party stood with it.
"Modi will help BJP win more seats..despite that, it will not be able to form the next government at the centre as no party is with it. Only Third front will be able to form government after polls," he said.
The RJD chief, however, retorted that the Samajwadi Party chief was watching dance and music performances in his village for the whole night and may have made the comments in the morning when he was 'sleepy'.
"There was dance and music programme in Mulayam Singh Yadav's village Saifai. Television has shown it.... I am not disrespecting Mulayam. But I heard that Mualayam ji watched dance and music.
"He must have woken up the whole night and might be sleepy in the morning when you asked him something.... Now you are bringing that (what he said) before me and trying to create wedges...," Prasad said. He was talking to reporters outside 10 Janpath after meeting Congress President Sonia Gandhi to discuss the alliance in Bihar.
Next: Lalu meets Sonia, regrets breakdown in alliance with Cong
Lalu meets Sonia, regrets breakdown in alliance with Cong
New Delhi: RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Tuesday met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and later vowed not to repeat the 2009 mistake of allowing breakdown of alliance with Congress.
After the nearly 10-minute meeting, Prasad said Gandhi has said she will meet him again this month to discuss with him the issue of alliance.
He said he can say with full confidence that an alliance of Congress-RJD-LJP will happen this time and will halt the march of "communal forces" in Bihar, Jharkhand and elsewhere. He also chose the occasion to praise the leadership of Rahul Gandhi as 'million times better' than that of Narendra Modi and Arvind Kejriwal.
"I am saying with full confidence that we will unite all secular parties aganist communal forces. Congress is all India party, a strong and secular party..Earlier we were together, even today we are so and will remain together even in future..I will make any sacrifice for this...
"I will not allow communal forces to occupy power at any cost..that is my dream....," Prasad told reporters.
The RJD chief, who expressed regret over break-up of the tie-up with Congress in 2009 due to his mistake of offering only three seats to Congress, said the error will not be repeated this time.
LJP and RJD had fought 2009 Lok Sabha elections separately without alliance with Congress and as a result while RJD could win only four seats, Congress two and LJP failed to open its account. This was in stark contrast to their having together won 29 seats in 2004 Lok Sabha polls.
Invoking the allegory of the Mahabharata, Prasad said "that time Congress had demanded only five villages. It was a mistake we did not give. Now, this will not be repeated...Our alliance is already with LJP and Congress. I had committed the mistake".
Amid indications that LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan is peeved at RJD undermining his party this time and repeatedly talking of giving it less seats, Prasad said, "I am not angry... I am not angry with Paswan or anybody else... We are together.."
