JD(U) holding ‘vulture rallies’ in Bihar, says Lalu Prasad; ruling party hits back

Slamming the ruling JD(U) in Bihar, RJD president Lalu Prasad on Sunday termed the state's Covid-19 situation as "pathetic, chaotic and explosive", and claimed the party was holding "vulture rallies" making people victims of the disease.

He was apparently hinting at the virtual rallies and meetings being held by the Janata Dal (United) and attended by party leaders and workers.

"The health system has crumbled. The state government should have become a hawk in order to contain the spread of coronavirus. Instead, the JD(U) is engaged in organising vulture rallies making people the victims (of the disease)," Prasad tweeted in Hindi.

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The former chief minister is serving jail sentences in several fodder scam cases and is currently lodged in a Ranchi hospital on account of poor health. His Twitter account is handled by his trusted aides.

The JD(U), however, hit back at Prasad, saying his comment was "barbaric and violent".

The RJD supremo also claimed that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has not come out of his residence even for four times in the past four months amid the pandemic outbreak.

Bihar’s COVID-19 caseload is 24,967 cases with 177 casualties, a health department bulletin said on Saturday.

A total of 15,771 people have recovered from the disease, while there are 9,018 active cases in the state, it said.

Reacting to Prasad’s tweet, JD(U) state unit spokesman Rajiv Ranjan Prasad termed its language as "barbaric and violent".

The entire world has been badly affected by Covid-19 and it has witnessed 10 lakh positive cases in past 100 hours, he said, adding there has been a steady rise in the number of positive cases in nine states, including Bihar, in the past seven to eight days.

"This is a challenge but the state's machinery is capable of dealing with the situation. Lalu Prasad's comment brings shame to humanity," the spokesman added.