Lalan Singh criticized RJD over caste census claims, credits Modi and Nitish for the initiative.
Patna, May 3, 2025: Union Minister and senior JDU leader Rajiv Ranjan allies Lalan Singh on Saturday launched a fierce attack on Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and its president Lalu Prasad Yadav, accusing the party of misleading the public on the issue of the caste-based census and promoting dynastic politics and corruption.
Recalling a key political episode, Lalan Singh said, “In 2005, when Nitish Kumar was set to become the Chief Minister of Bihar, Lalu Yadav, then the Railway Minister, pressured the Prime Minister at 2 a.m. to dissolve the Bihar Assembly, threatening to withdraw support if his demand was not met. If the caste census had been his priority, he would have demanded that instead.”
Lalan Singh firmly stated that the credit for the caste census initiative goes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, not to the RJD.
Lalan Singh challenges Tejashwi to show Lalu Prasad’s statement on the caste census:
Lalan Singh challenged Tejashwi Yadav to produce even a single video or statement showing Lalu Yadav demanding a caste census during his time in power.
“RJD has no real agenda. Their politics is based on family rule and corruption from fodder scams to tar scams to land-for-jobs scams. If Tejashwi Yadav truly believes in social justice, how did he earn thousands of crores before turning 18? Ask RJD workers how much they pay to become party members,” Singh added.
Earlier, Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav welcomed the Centre’s decision to include caste census in the national census, describing it as a victory for socialists and the RJD.
Lalu Prasad claimed he was advocating much before PM Modi took a decision:
Soon after the Centre’s announcement for the nationwide caste census, RJD chief Lalu Prasad also issued a statement defending his party’s long-standing advocacy for caste-based enumeration.
He recalled that during his tenure as national president of Janata Dal, the United Front government had decided to conduct a caste census in 1996-97, to be implemented in 2001. However, the plan was shelved by the NDA government under Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Lalu further stated that during the 2011 census, he, along with Mulayam Singh Yadav and Sharad Yadav, had stalled Parliament for several days demanding a caste census and allowed it to resume only after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh assured a socio-economic survey.
He also claimed that the first caste survey in India was conducted in Bihar during the 17-month tenure of the Mahagathbandhan government, led by the RJD and its allies.
EOM.