Bihar Election - Lalu Prasad

provoking disaffection by
defending cow slaughterBhupender Yadav
After being at the receiving end from Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad on the issue of
reservations, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has cornered the former Bihar CM for his comments
defending cow slaughter. While Prasad struggles to distance himself from his comments after the
Dadri incident that even Hindus ate beef, the BJP has upped the ante on the issue. Bhupender
Yadav, BJP Rajya Sabha MP and party's chief strategist for Bihar polls, tells Archis Mohan that Prasad
is trying to cause disaffection among people by defending cow slaughter.

Why is the BJP increasingly looking nervous as the Bihar elections draw near?
It isn't the BJP but the 'grand alliance' that is nervous. It shows in their strategy which is beset with
confusion. At times they talk of development and in the same breath of caste.
But hasn't the controversy over reservations and discontent within BJP ranks after ticket
distribution hurting the BJP?
Our stand on reservation is clear. The BJP is not in favour of any review of the current policy of
reservation. The discontent is not in the BJP but among parties opposed to us. The Samajwadi Party,
for instance, broke away from the 'grand alliance'.

The BJP has outdone Bihar CM Nitish Kumar in announcing poll sops by promising scootys and
laptops to students. Isn't it the kind of competitive populism that Prime Minister Narendra
Modi has always stood against?
Prime Minister Modi has already put in motion infrastructure development in Bihar under the Rs
1.65 lakh crore package for the state. Scootys and laptops to encourage education for girl students,
for which Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad did little, should be appreciated in this context and not
viewed as poll sops.
Let alone development, Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad couldn't even deliver their promise of social
justice in 25-years of their rule. Governance suffered after Kumar parted ways with the BJP. You
should ask Lalu ji what kind of development he is promising to the people of the state. His son
(Tejaswi) has declared in his affidavit that he is only ninth pass but has assets worth nearly a crore.
How do you think the controversy over the Dadri incident will impact Bihar polls?
Our party stands for harmony among different castes and communities based on respect for each
others' beliefs and sentiments, including on cow slaughter. Lalu Prasad Yadav is trying to provoke
disaffection among communities. It is unfortunate for a Yadav to have said what he did by defending
cow slaughter.
But hasn't the Dadri incident affected the international image of the PM and his government
at a time when he is seeking foreign investments for 'Make in India?
It is erroneous to connect an issue that has to do with people's sentiments with the international
image of the Prime Minister or our government.
Article Source: Business Standard