Published 16:50 IST, December 19th 2019
'Turncoat leader silent': Lalu Prasad slams Nitish Kumar over CAA, calls him a 'coward'
Lalu Prasad Yadav lashed out at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for his support to the new Citizenship Act and the subsequent pan-India agitation against it
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, who is in prison, lashed out at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for his support to the new Citizenship Act and the subsequent pan-India agitation against it. In a Twitter post, Yadav's office, which tweets on the leader's behalf since his incarceration in the fodder scam, called Kumar a "turncoat leader who is conveniently silent" on the issue. The RJD, JD(U)'s arch-rival in Bihar, has vehemently opposed the CAA and NRC in Parliament and outside.
RJD calls for Bihar Bandh on Dec 21
The RJD has given a call for a Bihar bandh on December 21 in protest against the amended Citizenship Act, alleging that it has blown the Constitution to smithereens. Tejashwi Yadav, Lalu's younger son, made the announcement last week, urging all political and non-political outfits having "faith in the Constitution and the principle of justice" to take part in the bandh which was initially scheduled for December 22 but was later preponed so that the police recruitment exams on Sunday were not affected.
Bihar Bandh by Left parties
Members of Left-wing student organisations squatted on railway tracks disrupting the movement of trains while activists of another outfit vandalised an ambulance and burn tyres during a bandh called by Left parties in Bihar on Thursday. The bandh, also being supported by a number of small parties, has been called in protest against the CAA and the proposed countrywide implementation of NRC.
In Patna, activists belonging to pro-Left student bodies like AISF and AISA stormed the Rajendra Nagar Terminus and squatted on the tracks disrupting the movement of trains for about half an hour early in the morning. Railway sources said traffic was restored after the protesters were chased away by RPF personnel. The station witnessed fresh disturbance around 10 am when hundreds of activists of Jan Adhikar Party (JAP) floated by controversial former MP Pappu Yadav burnt tyres on the road adjacent to the Rajendra Nagar Terminus and some of them squatted on the tracks.
Updated 18:06 IST, December 19th 2019