The war of words between RJD supremo Lalu Prasad and Congress has escalated with External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee saying the Bihar strongman will find it difficult even to find a ministerial berth after the Lok Sabha elections.
The External Affairs Minister said that it is difficult for Lalu to even be part of the next government because he has betrayed UPA.
"Who will form government? BJP, NDA or the Third Front or Lalu? Leave alone forming the government, Lalu will find it difficult to become even a minister because he is with nobody (not in any major front)," Mukherjee told an election rally in Samastipur, Bihar.
Mukherjee was rushed to Samastipur after Congress President Sonia Gandhi failed to make the trip due to unassigned reason.
Mukherjee's remarks came barely hours after Lalu said it could not be taken for granted that Manmohan Singh was the UPA government's future prime minister.
Earlier, RJD chief Lalu Prasad had said that Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister could not be taken for granted and UPA constituents will sit together after the elections to choose their nominee for the top post.
Lalu's U-turn
The Railway Minister, who all along has maintained that Manmohan Singh was the UPA candidate, on Tuesday sang a different tune against the backdrop of his party RJD and the Congress going their own ways to fight the elections in Bihar.
Lalu, who had hitherto been saying that Manmohan Singh would be the next UPA prime minister, in a somersault this morning said "UPA is a confederation of secular parties and does not belong only to the Congress.
"We will sit together (after the elections are over) to chalk out a common minimum programme and in consultation with all our partners select a leader who will be the prime minister."
The Congress, which has for the first time projected Singh as UPA's prime ministerial candidate, took umbrage against Lalu and dispatched its senior most leader Mukherjee to take him on.
Lalu had first irked Congress by striking an alliance with Ramvilas Paswan's LJP leaving just three seats and that too those it had won the last time for Congress.
Congress retaliated and declared it would field candidates in all 40 constituencies of Bihar.
The RJD president then raised Congress' hackles by saying the party could not escape the blame for the demolition of the Babri mosque as it was in power at the Centre when it was brought down.
As Bihar Congress President Anil Sharma sought his sack from the union cabinet, Lalu asserted he was not there at the mercy of the Congress but because of the people's mandate.
Launching an attack on Bihar's NDA regime, Mukherjee alleged that Nitish Kumar-led government had failed to utilize funds being sent by the Centre for the development works.
"Either the money being sent by us to the state is being diverted or unutilised. The central assistance is also being returned for want of utilisation certificates," he said.
The Congress leader alleged that the NDA government was "not working well and will be rejected" in the ensuing polls.
Calling upon the people to vote for Congress for 'further strengthening the country', he defended his party's decision to go it alone in the state.
"We decided that the party will go it alone in Bihar not only in the Lok Sabha polls, but also in the next assembly elections," he said. (With NDTV inputs)
