Lalu on write track, rivals press alarm

PATNA: His cronies and ardent supporters may have done it in the past: Penning quite a few of the "Lalu Chalisas" but RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, himself, now wants to get into writing mode. But his book will capture more of the political events of his time when he was chief minister. His desire to write a book is, however, being ridiculed by the rival camp which is now even digging into the past to boost its attack on Lalu.

The maverick Lalu declared the other day that he will write a book, recounting the events which led to the arrest of LK Advani, besides exposing those who had opposed his arrest. Lalu was Bihar chief minister when Mr Advani was arrested on October 23, 1990, in Samastipur.

"It is good to hear that Laluji will be writing a book. But he should also include in the book how he "after his arrest" expressed apology to Advaniji and even explained to him the reasons behind his arrest, said JD(U) leader Nihora Prasad Yadav.

Interestingly, Nihora Prasad Yadav was till recently in the RJD camp but has now switched his political loyalty to the JD(U). But his old association with Lalu did not stop him from targeting Lalu who he said had even accepted a golden crown from Independent MLA Pradip Joshi, "a politician known for Muslim bashing".

Taking a jibe at Lalu, Munna Sahi of JD(U) said he was not sure whether Lalu will himself write the book or seek someone's help. "I am not sure about his literary calibre. But if he does write a book , he should also write about the kidnapping industry, which was the only industry that thrived in his regime," said Mr Sahi.

Another JD(U) leader, Anil Pathak, sought to open the can of worms for Lalu and said his regime was known for scams. "The book should have a special chapter on all the scams which had become endemic of the Rabri-Lalu regime. The bitumen scam and the multi-crore fodder scam should be included in the book so that the coming generation gets to know all the Lalu regime was known for, " said Mr Pathak.