Lalu Prasad Says RJD Is 'Not Just an Election-Fighting Machine', Urges Workers To Defend Democracy

Patna: RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Sunday asserted that every worker and leader must understand that the party was not merely an "election-fighting machine" and claimed that various burning issues were being concealed behind the so-called Hindutva cover.

In a message to the people on the occasion of the 30th foundation day of RJD, Lalu said, “Friends, if we examine the election results of several states in recent times, it becomes clear that the BJP, by taking control of constitutional institutions and sidelining the Constitution, is trying to push the country backward again through authoritarianism. Our politics does not allow us to accept this situation. Therefore, all members of the Rashtriya Janata Dal must prepare themselves for this historic role without wasting any time. Every worker and leader must understand that our party is not just an election-fighting machine.”

Lalu admitted that parties equipped with democratic, progressive, socialist, and pro-democracy ideologies were passing through a momentary cloud of despair across the country. He alleged that compromised constitutional institutions, an aggressive market, the unlimited use of capital not only to buy voters but also elected representatives, and right-wing reactionary politics had posed several challenges to the very existence of democracy. “Issues such as the participation of backward classes, equality of opportunity in education and employment, the rights and security of minorities, uneven development, and the government's failures are being covered up under the so-called cloak of Hindutva,” he claimed.

“By maintaining continuous contact with like-minded groups and other progressive sections of society, we must reassure them that the RJD is capable of fighting for their concerns and issues both in Parliament and on the streets,” he remarked.

He said that this struggle would be different from all previous struggles because it is a battle between "insensitive prosperity" and "conscious deprivation," as it was a battle between the "powerful" and the "powerless."

“Our party is not merely an election-fighting machine" Lalu

Patna: RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Sunday asserted that every worker and leader must understand that the party was not merely an "election-fighting machine" and claimed that various burning issues were being concealed behind the so-called Hindutva cover.

In a message to the people on the occasion of the 30th foundation day of RJD, Lalu said, “Friends, if we examine the election results of several states in recent times, it becomes clear that the BJP, by taking control of constitutional institutions and sidelining the Constitution, is trying to push the country backward again through authoritarianism. Our politics does not allow us to accept this situation. Therefore, all members of the Rashtriya Janata Dal must prepare themselves for this historic role without wasting any time. Every worker and leader must understand that our party is not just an election-fighting machine.”

Lalu admitted that parties equipped with democratic, progressive, socialist, and pro-democracy ideologies were passing through a momentary cloud of despair across the country. He alleged that compromised constitutional institutions, an aggressive market, the unlimited use of capital not only to buy voters but also elected representatives, and right-wing reactionary politics had posed several challenges to the very existence of democracy. “Issues such as the participation of backward classes, equality of opportunity in education and employment, the rights and security of minorities, uneven development, and the government's failures are being covered up under the so-called cloak of Hindutva,” he claimed.

“By maintaining continuous contact with like-minded groups and other progressive sections of society, we must reassure them that the RJD is capable of fighting for their concerns and issues both in Parliament and on the streets,” he remarked.

He said that this struggle would be different from all previous struggles because it was a battle between "insensitive prosperity" and "conscious deprivation," as it was also a battle between the "powerful" and the "powerless."