The Hindu : National : War of words between Paswan, Lalu

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Nov 29, 2004

National

National

War of words between Paswan, Lalu

By K. Balchand

PATNA, NOV. 28. As the Bihar Assembly elections get closer, a war of words has erupted between the Union Ministers, Ram Vilas Paswan and Lalu Prasad. Mr. Paswan and Mr. Prasad have now come out in the open with charges and counter charges.

Irked by allegations by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leaders against his party legislators, Mr. Paswan accused Mr. Prasad of threatening the incarcerated MLA of the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), Rajan Tiwari, over phone.

Mr. Paswan alleged that a call was made to Mr. Tiwari's official residence last night and the caller, identifying himself as Rinku Shrivastava, warned him of dire consequences for his role in getting crowd for a party rally yesterday.

Mr. Paswan said the RJD chief should remember that he was involved in the Rs. 1,000-crore fodder scam and had been to jail.

Hand in kidnap

Mr. Paswan's attack was in response to Mr. Prasad's remark that the LJP should open its office in each jail.

Mr. Prasad said the Uttar Pradesh police had claimed that Mr. Tiwari was behind the kidnapping of the two National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) engineers, one of whom had been rescued by the police. The State police raided Mr. Tiwari's house again last night and seized three vehicles.

Purchase of cranes

Mr. Prasad hit back, saying that Mr. Paswan was neck deep in corruption and he would make public the documents relating to purchase of cranes by the Railways when Mr. Paswan was the Railway Minister.

According to Mr. Prasad, his predecessors, Nitish Kumar and Mamta Banerjee, had ordered a CBI enquiry into the Rs. 800-crore crane purchase deal with a foreign company.

He said that even a public interest litigation petition had been filed in this connection.

"The file is not dead. The cranes were of poor standard and not up to the capacity specified. Mr. Kumar had called for a field test. I'll make it public," said Mr. Prasad.

Warning to criminals

The RJD supremo alleged that the LJP was behind the kidnapping incidents and warned that the State Government would act like a bulldozer and crush them.

He said that a few criminals and goondas were bringing a bad name to the State but the Government would spare none of them.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National

News Update

Stories in this Section

Bill on communal violence being readied: Patil

Naga peace process faces a roadblock

Left against allowing private airlines to expand foreign operations

The West Bengal way of tackling extremism

Ex-Minister escapes

War of words between Paswan, Lalu

ILO chief backs job guarantee programme

Six foreign firms to look for gas deposits in Assam

Rid South Asia of nuclear weapons: peace activists

Supreme Court Collegium recommends another mass transfer

Row over report on service tax