Stung by Lalu's remark on train crash, Ravi Shankar talks of scams

Senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad on Sunday raked up “scams” during Lalu Prasad's tenure as Railway Minister, a day after the RJD president blamed the Balasore triple train crash on "negligence" of railways by the Narendra Modi government at the Centre.

The former Union minister was replying to questions from journalists at a press conference organised at the BJP's Bihar headquarters to showcase the Modi government's achievements in nine years.

When pointed out that Prasad had, on the previous day, spoken of "negligence" and accused the Modi government of having "destroyed railways", Prasad shot back that the former Bihar CM was embroiled in a number of “scams” and was busy securing bail.

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"His achievements as Railway Minister are there for all to see. He is facing investigations in the land for hotels scam and the land for jobs scam, and busy securing bail in both cases", quipped Prasad, a former law and justice minister.

He also criticised opposition parties for "indulging in politics" over the accident which has killed hundreds of people and claimed that the government was making all necessary efforts.

"The Prime Minister visited the site of the mishap himself and the Railway Minister is camping there", Prasad pointed out.

The BJP leader, who represents Patna Sahib in the Lok Sabha, also asked Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to clarify his stand on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's reported statement that Muslim League was a "secular party".

"It is the party responsible for the country's Partition. We would like to know what Nitish babu thinks of the statement", said Prasad.

Kumar was a BJP ally until August last year when he snapped ties and joined the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ that includes Congress, RJD and the Left.

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Prasad, who was accompanied at the press conference by local MLAs Nitin Nabin and Nand Kishore Yadav, claimed that the growth witnessed in the last nine years has benefited the entire country, "including Bihar and the city of Patna".

"The biggest thing is, it has been an honest government, unlike past regimes which had led the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi to admit that of every rupee spent by the government only 15 paise could actually reach the people", said Prasad.

"This government has also not shied away from taking bold steps in national interest. Infrastructure development along the borders with China has taken place at a rapid rate. Nowhere to be seen is the fear of upsetting the mighty neighbour which marked the previous Manmohan Singh government", alleged Prasad.

Underscoring that he was proud of having appeared as "the counsel for Ram Lala" in the Ayodhya title suit, Prasad said, "Mahakal Corridor, Kashi Vishwanath Corridor and Ram Janmabhumi bear testimony to the Modi government's unflinching commitment to the preservation of the country's spiritual and cultural heritage".