Patna, Jun 17: RJD president Lalu Prasad on Wednesday blamed his arch-rival Nitish Kumar, who heads the JD(U), for the downgrading of his security cover by the BJP-led government in Bihar.
The RJD supremo was approached by journalists with queries on the recent order of the Samrat Choudhary administration by which the security cover of Prasad and his wife Rabri Devi, both ex-CMs who had been Z-plus protectees, was downgraded.
Prasad gave the curt reply, saying, “Yes, the security cover has been downgraded. It is all being done at the behest of Nitish Kumar”.
The once garrulous leader, who now spends most of his time in seclusion because of old age and ill health, did not elaborate further.
The rivalry between Prasad and Kumar, both of whom had cut their teeth in the students’ movement led by Jayaprakash Narayan in 1974, has been the stuff of legend in Bihar.
The two have had a love-hate relationship since the 1990s, when Kumar broke ranks with Prasad and finally, in 2005, unseated the RJD from power in alliance with the BJP.
Despite fierce rivalry between the two leaders, there have been two short-lived alliances between the RJD and the JD(U), both occasioned by Kumar’s temporary disenchantment with the BJP.
On both occasions, Prasad’s younger son and heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav had been rewarded with the deputy CM’s post.
Last month, Kumar stepped down as the Bihar chief minister to move to the Rajya Sabha, paving the way for the first-ever BJP government in the state, and his son Nishant has been inducted into the cabinet of Samrat Choudhary.(PTI)
