Patna: RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Tuesday accused the BJP-led NDA govt at the Centre of “profiteering” at the expense of the public and denying govt employees their due benefits, including adequate bonuses.“It pains me deeply to see that the capitalist govt in power has reduced govt employees to mere tools for generating revenue and vehicles for its own publicity,” Lalu said in a social media post, in which he also extended greetings on Vijayadashami and Dussehra.He alleged that the NDA govt had taken away govt employees’ pensions and claimed that bonuses had become a distant prospect and salaries were not being paid on time. He also criticised what he described as frequent tax increases and back-breaking inflation.Referring to his tenure as railway minister, Lalu claimed that he had broken previous records by granting railway employees a 70-day bonus for the first time. “Earn, serve the public, benefit the railways. We will share the earnings with you all,” he said, while describing the principle behind the bonus during his tenure.Lalu said the govt’s role was not merely to collect taxes from people while “depriving the poor of food”. He accused the NDA govt of favouring “wealthy tycoons” by waiving their loans worth billions, and said employees’ contributions to govt revenue should be duly recognised.abhayarpana@gmail.com
