Lalu, now called Quaidi No 3312, wants cable connection in jail

A day after Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president Lalu Prasad was sent to jail, he got a new identity in the Birsa Munda Jail in Ranchi. He will now be known as “Qaidi No 3312” till he remains incarcerated there.

Lalu has been placed in the same upper division block of the jail in which former chief minister of Jharkhand Madhu Koda was imprisoned when he was once lodged there while facing corruption charges.

On Tuesday, Lalu had tea and breakfast.  For lunch, he was served dal, roti and veg (brinjal) as per jail manual. Later, he demanded cable connection as the TV set in his room was showing only Doordarshan (DD) news.

“We have forwarded his request (for cable connection) to the government for necessary action,” said Jail IG Shailendra Bhushan. Outside the jail premises, local people gathered to have a glimpse of the jailed leader.

RJD minister Annapurna Devi was the first to meet Lalu on Tuesday. She was followed by Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, Ram Chandra Purve, Prabhunath Singh, Ram Kripal Yadav and host of other senior leaders.

According to sources, an undaunted Lalu on Tuesday issued a three-pronged diktat to his colleagues. First, leave Ranchi at the earliest and move to Bihar. Second, remain united during the hour of crisis.

Third, go to the people along with Rabri, Tej Pratap and Tejaswi and educate the RJD voters how Lalu had been “framed” by rivals even though the CBI could not find a single ill-gotten penny from his house either in Patna, Delhi or from his ancestral house in Gopalganj.

By evening, hordes of SUVs were seen running on the Ranchi-Patna highway carrying senior RJD leaders back to their home State.