JOIN USRJD president Lalu Prasad said today Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani's "degrees may be fake, but she is not" after a Delhi court admitted a case accusing her of misrepresenting educational qualifications.
Prasad said, "What is there to do with degrees? Irani is real. She is a woman. She has acted in the television serial 'Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi'. She respects me a lot."
The former Bihar chief minister was talking to reporters after meeting party workers and leaders from Purnia division as part of RJD preparation for the state Assembly polls scheduled in September-October.
Prasad further said that "the entire government at the Centre is fake. They are talking about making a smart city. Just keep watching what all they will make. They talked about bullet trains, but that will cost Rs 60,000 crore. From where this much money will be brought?"
Prasad advised Modi to build better villagers instead of "decorating cities like brides". He alleged that the "Adarsh Gram Yojana" started by the Prime Minister has come to a standstill as there was no money available. The same has happened to the 'clean Ganga' campaign, he said.
The veteran leader said that the BJP was eyeing Bihar with "vulture eyes" with an intention to grab power in the coming Assembly elections, but RJD will foil its plans.
Raising ally JD(U) slogan 'Abki baar Nitish Kumar' (This time Nitish Kumar), the RJD chief asked his party workers to adopt it and go all out to campaign for the polls.
He added another slogan 'Jabse BJP aayi hai, kamar tod mehangai layi hai' (BJP has brought back-breaking inflation since it has come) to it.
He also advised his party workers not to hanker for tickets, but pay attention to spread awareness about the promises on black money which the BJP made but did not keep.
"I have asked my workers to tell the people about the harms of the proposed land acquisition law. They will also tell them how seniormost BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani has talked about fear of Emergency in the country and how he has pointed towards 'one man show'," he said.
Taking pun at Union Minister and LJP President Ram Vilas Paswan, Prasad said he is the same person whom I call "weather scientist".
"While introducing himself to the then Pakistan President Parvez Musharraf, Paswan had said he was the same guy who quit the company of BJP over the Godhra riots. But see, he has now joined the saffron party," Prasad said.
Much to the amusement of everybody, the RJD chief also pointed out that Paswan wears coat in summer.