Muzaffarpur (Bihar): Claiming that the RJD has subordinated itself to the RJD in Bihar, former poll strategist Prashant Kishor on Sunday challenged Rahul Gandhi to criticise Lalu Prasad for having a portrait of Ambedkar placed at his feet.
Kishor, whose fledgling outfit Jan Suraaj Party seeks to make a splash in the upcoming Bihar assembly elections, addressed a press conference in the district of Muzaffarpur.
Replying to a query on the Congress' prospects, Kishor, who had sought to join that party before launching Jan Suraaj campaign, said "The Congress has reduced itself to a sidekick of the RJD in Bihar. Earlier, the state Congress was beholden to Lalu Prasad, now it is the turn of (younger son and heir apparent) Tejashwi Yadav".
The 47-year-old added, "I ask Rahul Gandhi to do a small thing to prove me wrong. Let him issue just one statement criticising Lalu Prasad for having a portrait of Ambedkar placed at his feet".
Kishor also lashed out at the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha for "never taking to task Chief Minister of Telangana, where the Congress is in power, for mocking people of Bihar with the statement that menial jobs were in their DNA".
The Jan Suraaj Party founder also demanded the resignation of state health minister and senior BJP leader Mangal Pandey over the recent death of a minor Dalit girl, hailing from Muzaffarpur, who succumbed to injuries days after a brutal sexual assault.
Kishor also took potshots at senior minister and JD(U) national general secretary Ashok Choudhary who has sued him for alleging that the latter's daughter Shambhavi, the MP from Samastipur, got the ticket from Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) of Union minister Chirag Paswan, after money changed hands.
"Ashok Choudhary and his daughter should tell the people of Bihar what they have done for Dalits. They have always used their Dalit identity to their own advantage", the Jan Suraaj Party founder alleged.
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