RJD and liquor mafia behind attack on Nitish Kumar's cavalcade, says Sushil Modi

Patna: Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi on Wednesday charged the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the main opposition party in the state, with having masterminded the attack on Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s cavalcade last week in collusion with liquor mafia. The senior BJP leader’s attack on Lalu Prasad Yadav’s party was made in the context of the attack on chief minister’s cavalcade in a village in Buxar district on 12 January last. [caption id=“attachment_3791305” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi. PTI[/caption] BJP is a coalition partner of Nitish Kumar government in Bihar. “Police had seized a huge quantity of liquor from Nandan village of Buxar district. The attack on the chief minister was a planned one, aimed at seeking vengeance for the operation”, Sushil Modi tweeted. Kumar’s cavalcade was attacked when he was touring the village on Friday last as part of his state-wide “Vikas Samiksha Yatra”. The chief minister had banned sale and consumption of alcohol in the state nearly two years ago. In the tweet, Sushil Modi also said: “those who had once stood joining hands in favour of prohibition, have today sided with the liquor mafia”. The remark was an obvious reference to RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav, currently in jail in connection with a fodder scam case, who had stood beside the chief minister on 21 January last when a state-wide human chain was formed in support of the prohibition drive. The RJD was sharing power with Kumar’s JD(U) at that time. The chief minister walked out of the Grand Alliance after corruption charges surfaced against Prasad’s younger son Tejashwi Yadav - who was then the deputy chief minister. The BJP, which was in the Opposition, immediately came up with the offer of support to Kumar following which a new government was installed in the state. Sushil Modi also lambasted the Opposition party for “weaving false tales of dissatisfaction with development works” and said, “both wards under the village enjoy facilities like electricity and tap water”. The RJD has been claiming that the stone-pelters were Dalits living in nearby localities who wanted to draw the chief minister’s attention towards alleged lack of amenities in their area. The party has also criticised the ensuing police action, describing as “harassment of Dalits” the arrests made in connection with the attack on the chief minister’s carcade, which had left many security personnel and other staff injured.