BJP wants to poison Lalu Prasad, alleges Rabri Devi

Former Bihar chief minister and RJD national vice-president Rabri Devi has accused the BJP of hatching a conspiring to poison her husband and party supremo Lalu Prasad, a charge dismissed by the saffron party as "baseless".

Prasad, who has been serving term in a Ranchi prison following his conviction in fodder scam cases, is currently undergoing treatment for multiple ailments at the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences in Jharkhand capital.

"The BJP government wants to kill Lalu ji by poisoning him in the hospital.

"If the Centre as well as the state governments of Bihar and Jharkhand want to kill him, if they want to kill the entire family of Lalu Prasad, they can do so, but their dictatorship will not be accepted," Rabri Devi said in a minute-long video clip posted on her Twitter handle Saturday.

The people of Bihar and Jharkhand will come out on streets if anything untoward happens to Prasad, the senior RJD leader asserted.

"Tejashwi had gone to meet Prasad yesterday, but he was not allowed to do so. The autocratic government came out with an order (yesterday) as per which three persons, usually allowed to meet Lalu ji on Saturdays, were stopped from visiting him yesterday," said Rabri Devi.

The Jharkhand's Birsa Munda jail authorities barred visitors from meeting the incarcerated RJD chief, citing law and order problem.

As per jail norms, Prasad is allowed to meet a maximum of three visitors every Saturday at the Ranchi hospital.

Earlier on April 7, Leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly and the RJD chief's son, Tejashwi Yadav, had alleged he was not allowed to meet Prasad in jail by the "autocratic" BJP government in the neighbouring state.

Tejashwi, who was deputy chief minister in the Bihar's erstwhile Grand Alliance government, also claimed that "a conspiracy was being hatched against Lalu ji. He is in a hospital undergoing treatment amid security, but his room is being raided every day."

Reacting to Rabri Devi's allegations, Bihar BJP spokesman Nikhil Anand said the charges were "baseless and absurd" and that there was no threat to Lalu Prasad's life.

"It is the RJD politics, not Lalu Prasad, which is under threat after two rounds of elections. The Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) is going to be wiped out completely," he said.

Stating that Prasad has been given full security and adequate medical facilities, Anand said, "If they (Lalu's family) think that their legitimate rights are being violated, then they can approach the court to redress their grievances."

The Supreme Court, on April 10, had dismissed a bail plea of the RJD supremo in the multi-crore fodder scam cases.

A bench, headed by Chief Justice Rajan Gogoi, had rejected arguments by that he had served 24 months, saying "24 months was nothing compared to the 14-year sentence awarded to him".