Lalu bats for Congress in Karnataka

Even though his Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) is not contesting the ensuing assembly elections in Karnataka, Federal Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav campaigned for the victory of its ally Congress party.

Addressing a rally organized by the Congress party in Hubli on Tuesday, Lalu, in his own inimitable style hit out at the BJP as a “communal virus” and spoke lightly of the JD (S) headed by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda.

He appealed to the voters to bring back the Congress to power in Karnataka and reject the BJP and JD (S) in the ensuing mid-term polls to the state assembly.

“The BJP is a communal virus that spreads like a disease. You should not only reject the BJP, but also get rid of it. People should drive the BJP out of the state”, he said.

Mocking at the BJP for promising to give a Gujarat model of Government in Karnataka, Lalu said BJP had already ruined and destroyed Gujarat beyond reconstruction and repair. ‘The same thing will also happen to Karnataka if BJP comes to power”, he said.

During the course of his address, Lalu went on to claim that he was the one, who made Gowda the Prime Minister of the country. But, after Gowda came to power, he sacked former Chief Minister Ramakrishna Hegde from the party.

Lalu, who was himself the national President of the then undivided Janata Dal, said it was a grave mistake to sack Hegde. “Later, he turned his back on me and started spewing venom”, the Railway Minister said.

He accused the JD (S) leader of betraying the Congress first and BJP later. “People should not believe such leaders”, Lalu cautioned.

At the same time, Lalu heaped praises on Congress President Sonia Gandhi. Seeking to remind the people that Sonia had sacrificed the post of a Prime Minister, Lalu said the Congress President was a true daughter of the country. “However much the BJP paints her as a foreigner, she is the true daughter of the country. She is a great leader”, Lalu said.

Under the leader of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, India was marching forward and the people of the state must come forward to bring the Congress party back to power in Karnataka, he said.