Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, who celebrated his 68th birthday here on Thursday, accused the ‘saffron tainted’ ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of promoting ‘jungle raaj’, and challenged it to declare its chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming Bihar Assembly polls. Yadav said the Janata Parivar merger was aimed at preventing communal forces from coming to power in the state. “We, Nitish Kumar, the JD (U) were scattered. The communal forces took advantage of it. So, we have gathered under one alliance to stop them. Earlier also, we have defeated the BJP after a grand alliance in Bihar. We have come under one roof and we will defeat the BJP. We have Nitish Kumar our CM (candidate). We expect the BJP not to pretend that they would declare their chief ministerial candidate after the polls. Declare your candidate first,” he said. The RJD boss took a jibe at the ‘BJP karegi pehla kaam, jungle raaj pe poorna viram’ – slogan for the Bihar polls, saying the saffron party is responsible for spreading ‘jungle raaj’ in the nation. “Har haath ko kaam, har khet ko paani’,” he said mocking the BJP. Yadav also rubbished the BJP’s strategy of highlighting the NDA’s recently-launched central schemes, including the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana ahead of the polls to garner public support. Highlighting the problems of rampant poverty, malnutrition and unemployment, Yadav alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government was deceiving the people of the nation. “We have to save the nation, make sure that the country remains united…. The challenges of poverty and malnutrition, everything is mentioned in the United Nations report. False claims are being made. The polices have changed, but the nation is still at the 44th position during Narendra Modi ji’s rule as it was during Dr. Manmohan Singh’s tenure,” said Yadav. “They have not fulfilled even a single promise. The people are being cheated all the time. They make assurances, talk about package during the elections; it is all a ploy,” he added. Yadav thanked all his well-wishers and supporters for extending their greetings to him on his birthday. “I thank everyone for their wishes. I would like to thank all the party workers and leaders who have worked with me,” Lalu told the media here.
