Patna, May 15: Rashtriya Janata Dal strongman Lalu Prasad today addressed a huge Parivartan rally at Patna's historic Gandhi maidan and said, the 2014 elections would be a make-or-break situation for India as a nation.
The RJD supremo said: "The elections of 2014 will decide whether India will stay united or break. Communal forces are conspiring to grab power in Hastinapur (Delhi), whether it's Modi or Advani, we will give them a befitting reply (moonh-tod jawaab)."
Lalu Prasad said, "we will not allow communal forces (read BJP) to come to power in Hastinapur (Delhi) at any cost. They are browbeating Muslims. I appeal to all of you to lay your lives if anybody tries to intimidate Muslims."
Addressing his core constituency of Muslim-Yadav combine, the RJD leader alleged that Muslims in Bihar are being arrested by Nitish Kumar's government on charge of being militants.
Lashing out at Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, Lalu Prasad levelled charges of corruption against the ruling party and said there has been a big rise in rape crimes, and atrocities on weaker classes in the state.
"Nitish Kumar and his men are fooling the people by saying they are going to take Bihar ahead of China and make it prosperous like the US", said the RJD leader.
Lalu Prasad reminded that there were never any cases of rape in Bihar during his and his wife Rabri Devi's regimes. "Today leave alone rape cases, a girl wearing a black dupatta at the chief minister's meeting was forced by police to take off her dupatta. Why are they afraid of black clothes?"
The RJD leader said, corruption was rampant throughout the state machinery, whether for procuring death certificates, caste certificates or character certificates.
Describing Nitish Kumar as a "taanashah" (dictator), Lalu Prasad said the people of Bihar will throw his party out from power in the next elections.
"People who had voted for Nitish Kumar are now telling me, Lalu may be foul-mouthed, but during his regime, no woman was raped", said the RJD leader.
Lalu's wife Rabri Devi also addressed the huge gathering. The couple arrived at the rally nearly three and a half hours late, but the crowd continued to wait for their speeches.
