Bihar: RJD MLA demands Bharat Ratna for Lalu Prasad Yadav

Patna: Bihar's main opposition party, the RJD, on Wednesday demanded Bharat Ratna for Lalu Prasad in the state Assembly.

Party MLA Mukesh Kumar Raushan raised the issue while introducing a private member's Bill, which was later defeated by voice vote.

"Laluji is the most popular leader in the country. He brought social justice and gave voice to the voiceless. He deserves the country's highest civilian award—Bharat Ratna. The state government must send a proposal in this regard to the central government," the RJD MLA said.

Stating that Lalu is the 'messiah' of the poor and downtrodden, Raushan said the party's founder and president fought for the rights of the poor and dedicated his entire life for them.

Reacting to this, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary said, "There is no such proposal in this regard which is under the consideration of the state government. Therefore, the member must withdraw his private member Bill." When the RJD MLA refused to withdraw his Bill, it was defeated by voice vote.

Earlier too, the issue was raised by RJD leaders. In October last year, a poster was put up outside the RJD office in Patna demanding Bharat Ratna for Lalu.

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, on several occasions in the past, supported the demand for Bharat Ratna for his father Lalu Prasad.