“If President can share dais with convicted Lalu why can not home minister Rajnath?”
Patna,(BiharTimes): The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance’s last minute decision to boycott the Champaran Satyagraha function in Patna on Monday has raised a question: “‘If President Pranab Mukherjee can share dais with convicted RJD chief Lalu Prasad why can not home minister Rajnath Singh?”
Political observers are of the view that the seat arrangement for a Presidential function is not only decided by the state government as some would try to makee out. The names are sent to Rashtrapati Bhawan and approved by it.
So the Union government, especially the home ministry can not entirely escape the responsibility. After all President’s trip has much to do with the security arrangement too. So if the President has really set a wrong precedent––as it is being alleged––is he or his office or the state government alone responsible?
This gave Lalu Prasad––the man in question––a stick to beat the BJP. While speaking during the function he asked as to why had Rajnath Singh, in the first place, gave consent to attend the function. His name and chair had to remove at the final moment, he said.
Apart from Rajnath, the state BJP president, Nityanand Rai, too abstained from the function organized in honour of freedom fighters. The BJP might have taken a moral high ground but independent analysts are of the view that the decision was taken without proper homework.
Thus it has exposed its double standards. “The saffron party can provide Y-categpry security to convicted politicians like Pappu Yadav. He can fly with helicopter to campaign against the Grand Alliance on the eve of 2015 Assembly polls.
Similarly Sadhu Yadav can be greeted by the then Gujarat CM, Narendra Modi in 2013. This is so only because they left the Lalu camp,” said a commentator.
Another Bihar-watcher said that when Lalu was made to sit on the ground during the Prakash Utsav function on January 5 in which PM Narendra Modi was the chief guest so much hue and cry was raised by the same lot. It was left upto Lalu to clarify the whole matter.
