'Feel disgust, anguish': Shivraj attacks Lalu for 'insulting' Ambedkar

Patna, Jun 16 (PTI) Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday came down heavily on RJD president Lalu Prasad for allegedly insulting Babasaheb Ambedkar and claimed that the former Bihar chief minister will "never be forgiven" by people of the state and the country.

Chouhan, who was here to attend a function held in the memory of Buddhu Nonia, a freedom fighter belonging to an extremely backward class, spoke to journalists at the airport.

"I wonder what has gone wrong with Lalu Prasad. He had a portrait of Ambedkar, a Bharat Ratna awardee who gave the country its Constitution, placed at its feet. I feel disgust and anguish," said the former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh.

Chouhan was alluding to a video footage of Prasad's 78th birthday celebrations last week in which one of the visitors appears to have placed a portrait of Ambedkar at the RJD supremo's feet.

The RJD has, however, denied the allegation and claimed that the visitor had kept holding the portrait in his hands and the BJP was raising a controversy over the "camera angle".

Nonetheless, Chouhan said the incident called into question Prasad's claims of being a champion of "social justice" and asserted, "The people of Bihar and the entire country will never forgive the RJD and its president." Meanwhile, Prasad's son and heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav ruled out the possibility of his father tendering an apology.

When questions were posed to him about the controversy at a press conference, he shot back, "Has Union Home Minister Amit Shah apologised?" The allusion was to Shah's speech in Parliament a few months ago when he had remarked, "It has become a fashion to utter the name of Ambedkar. People would have got a place in heaven had they remembered God with the same intensity." Yadav also said, "Ambedkar was never insulted (by the RJD supremo). This is a fact known to you all." The Bihar State Commission for Scheduled Castes has issued a notice to Prasad for allegedly disrespecting Ambedkar.

The Commission has given the former chief minister 15 days to respond, warning that failure to do so could lead to legal proceedings.

Talking to PTI on Sunday, Bihar SC Commission vice-chairman Devendra Kumar said a notice was issued to Lalu Prasad seeking an explanation over the alleged incident.

"The Commission has given Prasad 15 days to respond and warned that failure to do so could result in action under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act," he added. PTI NAC ACD