Stop comparisons with Ambedkar, you are in jail for graft: Paswan to Lalu

Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Sunday slammed Lalu Prasad for comparing himself with Nelson Mandela and B R Ambedkar, saying they made sacrifices in national interest while the RJD chief was in jail for corruption.

The Lok Janshakti Party chief said Prasad had insulted stalwarts like Ambedkar by comparing himself with them and asked if the fodder scam was a scam of the poor or the powerful people.

Defending his ally BJP, which has been accused by Prasad of conspiring to put him behind bars, Paswan said the allegations amounted to an insult of the judiciary as he has been convicted by a court not the saffron party.

"Lalu ji you should not blame the BJP for everything to hide your sin. You should also not compare yourself with Martin Luther King, Mandela or Baba Saheb Ambedkar. They made sacrifices in the national interest. You are in jail for corruption, which is against national interest," Paswan said on Twitter.

The LJP chief, who was an ally of Prasad earlier, said the RJD chief and his supporters may make a lot of noise but his crimes cannot be brushed under the carpet.

A CBI court had yesterday convicted Prasad in a corruption case involving the fodder scam. He blamed the BJP for the development, accusing it of a conspiracy to put him behind bars.

Soon after the verdict, a post on Lalu Prasad's Twitter handle had read, "Powerful people and powerful classes always managed to divide society into ruling and the ruled classes. And whenever anyone from the lower hierarchy challenged this unjust order, they would be deliberately punished."

Another tweet had said, "Had people like Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Baba Saheb Ambedkar failed in their efforts, history would have treated them as villains. They still are villains for the biased, racist and casteist minds. No one should expect any different treatment.