Rashtriya Janata Dal patriarch Lalu Prasad on Tuesday termed Rahul Gandhi's decision step down as Congress president as “suicidal”.
The former Bihar chief minister, who is serving a jail term after conviction in the multi-crore fodder scam cases, said Rahul’s resignation will “amount to falling into the Bharatiya Janata Party's trap.”
According to a report published in English paper The Telegraph (external link), Lalu Prasad said Rahul Gandhi's decision to quit as Congress chief will not only ring the death knell for his party but all forces who are fighting against the Sangh Parivar.
In the article, Lalu is quoted as saying, "The moment someone else beyond the Gandhi-Nehru family replaces Rahul, the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah brigade will paint the new leader as a “puppet” remote-controlled by Rahul and Sonia Gandhi. This will play on it till the next general election. Why should Rahul give such an opportunity to his political detractors?"
Analysing the 2019 Lok Sabha election results, Lalu Prasad said that the Opposition should admit that the resounding victory for the Modi government was a collective failure and should introspect on what went wrong.
"The Opposition parties had the common goal to dislodge the BJP but failed to build a national narrative. All across northern, eastern and western India, they fought it as though it were a state election. They failed to synchronise their strategy and actions. The people were looking for a national alternative, which the Opposition parties -- fighting in a disoriented manner in their respective states -- failed to provide," the former Bihar chief minister is quoted as saying.
Referring to the fact that no clear PM candidate emerged from the opposition against Narendra Modi, Lalu Prasad said, the opposition could not choose one 'dulha' (groom) for their 'baraat' (wedding procession).
According to reports, after the debacle in the Lok Sabha election, Rahul has offered to quit as Congress chief and has asked the party to look for a suitable successor.
The RJD, meanwhile, drew a blank in Bihar. This is the first instance after its inception in 1997, that the RJD could not win a parliamentary seat in the state.
