The development came close on the heels of the allotment of 10, Circular Road, a government bungalow which Rabri Devi has been occupying for two decades, in favour of BJP leader and minister Nand Kishor Ram.
The former CM, who has refused to move to 39, Hardinge Road, allotted to her in her capacity as the leader of the opposition in the state legislative council, received yet another snub from the government earlier this week when the security cover enjoyed by her entire family was downgraded.
“It is all just a ploy by the BJP-led government to humiliate our leaders Lalu ji, Rabri ji and Tejashwi ji. They have all returned their security cover. But the ruling dispensation could not care less as it would like our leaders to be killed,” alleged RJD spokesperson and former MLA Shakti Singh Yadav, who was among the first party leaders to take a seat in front of the gate.
“Henceforth, RJD workers will take it upon themselves to ensure that our leaders are out of harm’s way. I am here as a man responsible for their security. I will be joined by many of my colleagues,” he said.
RJD leader Abha Lata, who turned up at 10, Circular Road later in the day, did a video chat with Rabri Devi, and showed her the crowd that was standing at the gate.
Speaking to reporters, Abha Lata said, “We condemn the actions of Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, who has cut his teeth under Rabri Devi but is now out to humiliate her. I have told madam that she must not worry. Her husband and son may be away. But she is not alone.” Notably, Rabri Devi’s husband Lalu Prasad, the RJD president whom she had succeeded as Bihar CM in 1997, is away in Singapore for medical treatment. Their younger son Tejashwi Yadav, the RJD’s second-in-command, was said to be in Delhi.
While in Patna, the RJD supremo shares 10, Circular Road with his wife though many party leaders, including Yadav, his heir apparent, insist that Prasad should get a separate house in his capacity as a former CM.
Yadav, a former deputy CM who is currently the leader of the opposition in the state assembly, occupies 1, Polo Road, situated a few hundred metres away, and many RJD leaders claimed that he, too, has “returned” his security cover.
However, Yadav’s elder brother Tej Pratap, who was expelled from the RJD by their father a year ago, had a different take on the imbroglio.
A former state minister who now runs a fledgling party, Janshakti Janata Dal, Yadav turned up at his mother’s house in the afternoon, claiming to have learnt that she was unwell.
To the posse of journalists who approached him with queries, Yadav said, “As far as I know, none of my family members has returned his or her security. It is the security staffers who are playing truant with the claim that there is a break in their chain of command.”
Incidentally, the name of Tej Pratap Yadav, too, figured among members of the family whose security cover was downgraded two days ago.
The former minister, who had recently fulminated against the government’s order on his mother’s house, chose not to join issue over security and said, “The ruling dispensation would do well to ensure the safety of Bihar’s women who feel insecure because of poor law and order.”
Meanwhile, the ruling NDA frowned upon the “pressure politics” by the opposition party and claimed all the recent steps with regard to the RJD’s proverbial first family were taken “in accordance with rules”.
“The family of Lalu Prasad is indulging in pressure. Their tantrums show a lack of appreciation of the fact that it is a democracy and not a monarchy. If they want to make a public display of their sense of entitlement, nothing can be done about that,” senior BJP leader and Union minister Giriraj Singh, who was in his parliamentary constituency of Begusarai, said.
“There is a security committee formed across the state which makes the decisions. And Rabri Devi and Lalu ji are both receiving the security entitled to them as former chief ministers. What’s the problem?” asked Sanjay Saraogi, the state BJP president, in an interaction with PTI Videos.
