Lalu asks Narendra Modi to take oath afresh as PM

Says Modi had mispronounced the word 'akshuun' (unharmed) during his oath taking ceremony

With his elder son drawing flak for mispronoucing a Hindi word during his swearing-in ceremony, now RJD supremo Lalu Prasad has raked up an issue, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi should take his oath of office afresh as he had "mispronounced" the word 'akshunn' during his oath-taking ceremony last year.

Modi, he said, did not properly pronounce the word 'akshunn' (unharmed) while taking oath as the prime minister on May 20, 2014 and instead pronounced it as 'akshann' which does not have a literal meaning.

"Desh ko todne ka inka agenda hai hi kyunki PM ne desh ki prabhuta and akhandata ko 'akshunn' (unharmed) rakhne ki sapath to li hi nahin thee (Their (BJP) agenda to break the country is intact as the PM had not taken oath properly to maintain unharmed the unity and integrity of the country)," Prasad said in his posts on a social networking site yesteday.

By mispronouncing the word, Modi has rendered his oath "futile" and he should "take it afresh", Prasad said.

"Akshunn (unharmed) hi nahin bola to shapath bekaar hai... PM ko dobara shapath leni chahiye...'akshann' ka hindi mein koi shabdik arth nahin hai (PM did not say Akshunn (unharmed) which renders his oath futile...He should take oath afresh as 'akshann' word has no literal meaning in Hindi," he said.

The RJD supremo's elder son had mispronounced the word 'apekshit' (expected) as 'upekshit' (neglected) while taking oath as a senior minister in the Nitish Kumar government on November 20.

Governor Ram Nath Kovind had objected to the mispronunciation of the word by Tej Pratap and asked him to read out the oath afresh. Lalu's elder son faced a barrage of jokes and criticism, especially on social media, for his lapse.