I halted BJP's rath of intolerance twice: Lalu Prasad

RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Thursday said he has halted the Bharatiya Janata Party's rath (chariot) of "intolerance" twice in Bihar, first in 1990 and the second time in 2015.

"Humne asahishnuta ke rath ko Bihar mein do baar roka hai (I have halted the chariot of intollerance twice in Bihar)," Lalu Prasad said in a tweet while referring to the arrest of senior BJP leader L.K. Advani in 1990 and the party's drubbing in 2015 Bihar assembly elections.

"The BJP's character has not changed; only its leaders have changed," Lalu Prasad quipped.

The former Bihar chief minister said Narendra Modi was a campaign manager of the BJP's rath yatra led by Advani in 1990 and was now its face and leader. "Only Modi's post and stature in the party has changed," he said.

"But my ideological stand has not changed; what I used to stand for in the past, I am committed to that now as well," the Rashtriya Janata Dal leader said.

The grand alliance of Janata Dal-United, RJD and the Congress won 178 of the 243 assembly seats in Bihar while the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance mustered only 58 seats.