"The moment the I got the news about Lalu's comment, my first reaction was the Prime Minister should immediately sack him. This way, Manmohan Singh could have also proved, to some expect, that he was not a weak Prime Minister," senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi told PTI in Allahabad.

The former Union minister pointed out that despite the fact that Rashtriya Janata Dal was fighting elections separately, Lalu had not resigned from his post as the Railway Minister and therefore he shared a collective responsibility for the actions of the government.

 "You cannot talk about crushing somebody under a roller while holding such a high office. Moreover, his statement that he would have done so had he been the Home Minister shows that he is dissociating himself with whatever stand the central government had taken over the issue. You cannot do that while continuing to be a part of the government", he said.

The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government, however, Joshi said, allowed him to get away with this and it has backfired. "We just need to look at the attacks he has started levelling against the Congress. It is another matter that all this will benefit the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) in Bihar," the former BJP president said.