New Delhi: The much-publicised first visit of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student leader, Kanhaiya Kumar, to his home state Bihar after his arrest on sedition charge sparked a controversy as he touched the feet of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav.
The JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU) president touched Lalu’s feet before addressing a public meeting last Saturday where Deputy Chief Minister (CM) Tejashwi Prasad Yadav and some other RJD leaders were also present.
The picture is creating a buzz with many commenting derisively that the JNUSU president had begun his anticorruption crusade with Lalu, who had spent years in jail for the fodder scam.
“Kanhaiya Kumar is striking at the ‘root’ of corruption in India. He surrenders in front of ‘jungle raj’ (anarchy). Azadi gang exposed,” tweeted Sandip Singh.
“Kanhaiya Kumar is cleaning corruption by touching Laluji’s feet, in the background chorus of ‘azadi, azadi azadi’,” tweeted Rajul Tiwari.
“The great Kanhaiya Kumar collecting azadi from underneath Lalu’s feet. Lalu is known for his corruption cases. Shame on you. How can you call yourself a follower of great Dalit leader BR Ambedkar,” tweeted Meenakshi Mathur.
Kumar is also being attacked on the social media for giving confusing statements on total prohibition in Bihar. First he opposed prohibition on the national level saying that it went against the rights of the people, but later realising that Bihar government was aggressively implementing total prohibition hastened to add that it was a good decision in the interest of the poor people.
Besides, the presence of liquor baron Vinod Jaiswal in the meeting raised many eyebrows.
“Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had openly supported Kanhaiya Kumar after his arrest on sedition charges. He even said that Kanhaiya had been calling for ‘azadi’ (freedom) from poverty and exploitation, but now he is seeking ‘azadi’ for tipplers,” tweeted Ranjeet Trivedi.
Likewise, state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders were also critical of Kumar copying up with the liquor baron. They suspect the liquor baron must be behind the whole show.
“Kanhaiya Kumar was accompanied by a big liquor trader. There is hardly any doubt who sponsored his visit and who foot the bills. He should come clean on it,” senior BJP leader NAND Kishore Yadav told Gulf News.
