Lalu tries to play down `roadroller statement'

PATNA: Under fire from BJP and the Kishanganj district administration for his objectionable remarks against BJP leader Varun Gandhi, railway
minister Lalu Prasad on Tuesday tried to play down his statement. "What I actually meant was that I would have `bulldozed' him (Varun) politically and legally," he said.

While addressing an election rally at Kishanganj on Monday, Lalu had said that he would have let a road-roller over Varun's chest for his remarks against Muslims at Pilibhit.

Lalu said the media was trying to interpret his statement "wrongly". "The Sangh Parivar is trying to communalise the whole elections. I will not allow BJP to break the country as long as there is a drop of blood in my body," said Lalu trying to divert attention from his speech.

He said the media should show what Varun actually said about Muslims. "They (BJP) are portraying Varun Gandhi as if he were another Jayaprakash Narayan," he said.

RJD sources said that Lalu sought to make an aggressive statement against BJP's new poster boy Varun Gandhi because he was addressing an election meeting in Kishanganj -- the area which has the largest number of Muslims in Bihar. JD(U) has taken away this seat from BJP and fielded a Muslim candidate. Kishanganj is a litmus test for both Nitish and Lalu and the results will indicate their hold on minorities.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar took a swipe at his arch rival Lalu alleging that he was trying to create social tension. "Both he and Rabri Devi know that they have lost support of people. Today, people are not talking about caste or religion. They are talking about development. RJD wants to bypass the main issue and incite people along caste and religious lines again," he said.

Condemning Lalu's remarks on Varun, Nitish said: "What Varun Gandhi said was wrong and, therefore, we supported legal action against him. But it is wrong to incite passions by stating that he (Varun) should be run over by a bulldozer," he said and stressed that law enforcing agencies concerned should take note of Lalu's utterances.

Even Lalu's new-found friend LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan was found fumbling for words when he was asked to comment on Lalu's statement on Varun. "He (Lalu) actually meant that strong action should be taken against persons who resort to such statements," he said.

Source : Times of India