No withdrawal of outside support to UPA on ordinance: RJD

RJD today said it was hurt by the impression that the controversial ordinance on convicted lawmakers was brought to save party president Lalu Prasad but said would "neither withdraw support to UPA nor rock the boat of Jharkhand government".

"It is an internal matter of Congress and UPA and we have nothing to do with it (likely withdrawal of ordinance)," RJD Vice President Raghubansh Prasad Singh told PTI.
Asked if RJD would withdraw its outside support to UPA II in the event of withdrawal of the ordinance, Singh said "what is our hashiyat (strength)?  We are at present only a four-member party. We are supporting UPA from outside to safeguard secularism, so why shall we back out from it?

Singh, who returned to the national capital after remaining in Ranchi for the past three days in the wake of a CBI court pronouncing Lalu Prasad guilty in a fodder scam case and sending him to jail, said "we strongly criticise the impression that the ordinance was brought to save the RJD President".

"We fought against Congress in Bihar in the last parliamentary and assembly elections so why shall we expect any help from them"? Singh, tipped to take over as RJD Parliamentary party leader in Lok Sabha in the event of disqualification of Lalu Prasad, said.

Rather if there was any political consideration involved in bringing ordinnce, it could have been to protect Congress minority leader Rashid Masood Singh, who had served as union minister in UPA I, he said. RJD Secretary General Ramkripal Yadav also echoed similar views.

"There is no question of withdrawal of outside support to Manmohan Singh government or rock the boat of Jharkhand coalition government in the wake of the ordinance controversy," Yadav, Rajya Sabha member and a confidant of Lalu Prasad, told PTI.
JMM, Congress and RJD are together running a coalition government in Jharkhand.
Yadav, who returned to Patna today from Ranchi, said the ordinance was brought as collective decision of UPA partners.

He, however, said "we are hurt when it was said that ordinance was brought to help Lalu Prasad".

"There are more than 500 leaders in different parties who can be affected by the Supreme Court ruling on convicted lawmakers, so why Lalu Prasad is being singled out?" he said.

On the future of RJD in the wake of Lalu Prasad going to jail and who will lead the party in his absence, Yadav said "Prasad lives in each and every RJD worker so his physical absence will not have any adverse impact.

There is no provision in the RJD constitution that if a President goes to jail he will be disqualified from the post," he said and reiterated that Prasad would remain the RJD guiding light in the future too.

Yadav ruled out constitution of any core committee to run RJD in the absence of Lalu Prasad and said it would be a collective leadership and everybody would perform the task assigned to him/her.

The RJD Secretary General said a meeting of RJD leaders have been called on October 6 at Rabri Devi's residence in Patna to chalk out future course of action of the party.
Meanwhile, on instruction of Lalu Prasad all the RJD leaders have left Ranchi to carry on party's ongoing programe across the state.