Son leads, Lalu blinks

Patna:  The son on Thursday led the way for the father to blink and pull back from the brink after the verbal duel over Mohammad Shahabuddin cast a shadow on the unity of the Nitish Kumar-Lalu Prasad Mahagathbandhan. Deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav, the younger son of RJD boss Lalu, set the ball rolling in the morning when he said a "break has to be made with the past". Unlike the other family saga playing out in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh where Mulayam Singh Yadav, who, like Lalu, leaped onto the national stage in the post-Mandal era, has been unable to work out a patch-up between brother Shivpal Yadav and chief minister-son Akhilesh Yadav, the RJD boss appeared to have paid heed to his son. Lalu, who had been defending Shahabuddin - a legacy of his own 15-year rule in Bihar - quickly followed his son in agreeing to let go of the past.

Speaking exclusively to The Telegraph , Tejashwi (26) virtually distanced himself from the legacy of his party. "I want to forget the past and live in the present, people have given a mandate to us for constructive work and we must respect that. I am more focused on issues related to development. A certain section of the media does not want to show the good things of Bihar and is more interested in an useless issue which has no relevance," Tejashwi said, taking a dig at the Opposition for raising the issue of Shahabuddin who was freed from jail last Saturday following his bail from Patna High Court in a murder case. He, however, stressed that he doesn't mean forgetting the legacy of his father. "My father became CM in the era when social justice was the issue. Today the issue is development, and I am focused on that," Tejashwi said. His comment comes at a time when the two chief allies - the JDU and RJD - have been eyeball to eyeball on the Siwan gangster. The JDU has indicated that the government will back any appeal made in the Supreme Court against the bail granted to Shahabuddin. Tejashwi also indicated his party would abide by that. Asked what should be done with convicted criminals who come out on bail, he said it was a matter for the judiciary. Later in the evening, Lalu, who had been ambivalent amid the controversy, followed his youngest son to say that "past is past, enjoy the present, think about the future". Lalu thus indirectly made it clear that Shahabuddin is also a past and he too wants to get over this contentious issue which has rocked the state. "Everyone should keep calm, the controversy is over now, past is past and enjoy the present. The Grand Alliance is no fool and after taking everything into consideration we have formed the government," Lalu said at his 10 Circular Road residence this evening. Lalu's comment has come at a time when Opposition leaders have been demanding cancellation of the bail granted to Shahabuddin. Lalu further came under pressure when a photograph purportedly showing his elder son, health minister Tej Pratap Yadav, with Mohammad Kaif, an absconding sharpshooter wanted in the murder of Siwan journalist Rajdev Ranjan, added to the turmoil. Today, Tej Pratap's photo with another absconding accused went viral. Lalu hit out at the Opposition, accusing the BJP of making an issue out of nothing. "The NDA is restive and they want to us to quarrel which will not happen. Nitish is leader of the Grand Alliance and the government has better things to do," Lalu asserted. Tejashwi said much the same in his conversation with The Telegraph in his official chamber earlier in the day. "He (Shahabuddin) never attacked CM, he had just said Lalu ji was his leader. When Anant Singh had said the same thing, that Nitishji was his leader and not Laluji, nobody made it an issue. But today, when Shahabuddin said a similar thing, it has become a contentious issue. Why?" The Telegraph, Calcutta