Lalu should have been invited to Bihar railway programme: RJD

PATNA: RJD president and former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad has not been invited to tomorrow's railway function at Hajipur, to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and his party has taken exception to it.

Modi will dedicate to the nation the rail portion of Digha-Sonepur rail-cum-road bridge during his visit to Bihar.

"It was Lalu Prasad who added road to the railway bridge when he was the railway minister. But he has neither been invited at the railway function, nor his name mentioned in the advertisements," Deputy Chief Minister and Prasad's son Tejaswi Yadav told reporters here.

Yadav said Prasad is also a former chief minister and deserves an invitation for the function. He said BJP wants to take credit but leave out Prasad who got the bridge completed.

The programme is being held in Raghopur, a constituency Yadav represents, but he has also been not invited, he said.

Yadav, who also holds road and building construction departments in the Nitish Kumar cabinet, said Prime Minister Modi should apologise to the people of Bihar for not keeping his word of giving a special package of Rs 1.25 lakh crore.

Modi should apologise in the same manner in which he had announced the special package for Bihar, he said.

"He should say he cannot give Rs 50,000 crore, Rs 60,000, Rs 70,000 crore, Rs 90,000 crore, Rs 1.25 lakh crore special package to Bihar," Yadav said.

The PM's way of announcing special package of Rs 1.25 lakh crore and an additional Rs 40,000 crore of previous packages at Ara on the eve of Bihar Assembly polls was criticised by his rivals who said it was as if he was putting Bihar under the hammer.