RJD sees conspiracy over letters by late Raghuvansh Prasad

Rashtriya Janata Dal has cast its doubts over letters written by its founding member Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, from his hospital bed to Bihar CM Nitish Kumar. However, NDA has reacted sharply to the 'conspiracy' smelt by the RJD leaders and said that Singh was unhappy with party's few decisions.

Patna: Following the demise of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) stalwart Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, the party has challenged the genuineness of the four letters reportedly written by the late leader.

Singh, who died at AIIMS, New Delhi on Sunday, had on Thursday announced his resignation from the party via a hand-written addressed to jailed RJD supremo Lalu Prasad and followed it up with a series of communications, the next day, drawing the attention of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar towards a number of issues

Mritunjay Tiwari, Bihar RJD's spokesperson said, "We wonder how he could remove the oxygen mask while he was on a ventilator and especially, when he was having a severe illness, to write letters. Did he know that he was dying?"

"For us, he was like Bhishma Pitamaha of the party. I smell a deep conspiracy behind it. While we are busy in his last rites, the Opposition is making political points over his death," he added.

"Letters circulated in the media where it was written that he wants to bag an MLC (Member of Legislative Council) seat for his son who was working in Delhi for years. The status of Raghuvansh Babu was such that if he wanted anything like this, he could have spoken to RJD Chief Lalu Prasad Yadav who could not have denied it to him. What is the need of writing a letter to Nitish Kumar," Tiwari said.

RJD Chief Spokesperson Bhai Virendra has also levelled the same allegations against the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leaders for conspiring against the RJD through the death of Raghuvansh Babu.

Virendra said, "He was obviously upset over many things which he had expressed freely. But he never betrayed any intention of quitting the party he had nurtured. The state government is doing politics in the matter".

READ: Former RJD leader writes to Bihar CM, requests to fulfill 3 demands

Bhai Virendra pointed out that the letters written to Nitish Kumar were "too many in number and shared on the social media at too short intervals" and claimed the whole episode pointed towards 'a conspiracy by the NDA'.

Interestingly, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, an arch-rival of the departed leader, told the reporters yesterday," We have started acting on the requests of late Raghuvansh babu. Some issues raised by him fall in the ambit of the Centre and we have referred these to the Union government for appropriate action".

Among other things, Singh had sought extension of MGNREGA benefits to the farm sector. He had also expressed the wish that a huge begging bowl believed to have been used by the Buddha, which is at present kept at a museum in restive Kabul, be brought back from the Afghanistan capital and kept at Vaishali district, to which the late leader belonged and which is one of the many spots identified as part of the "Buddha Circuit".
The RJD leaders found support from senior Congress leader Akhilesh Prasad Singh, who had formerly been with Lalu Prasad's party. "I had met Raghuvansh babu just one week back. He was a transparent man and had he really been thinking of quitting his party, he would not have tried to hide it. There is some conspiracy at some level", the Congress leader said.

Speculations are rife that the former Union minister, who remained loyal to Lalu Prasad for more than three decades, was made to change his mind by his elder son Satya Prakash Singh who is said to have given up his corporate job with the intent to make the political plunge. The JD(U) is said to have been mooting a legislative council berth for the veteran RJD leaders son since before his death.

However, the NDA expressed outrage over the insinuations by the RJD leaders. "They seem to have no shame. They never cared about his well-being while he was battling for life. Singh was proud of his roots in Vaishali, the seat of the first republic in the world and he raised an issue relating to it. The RJD is talking rubbish," the party added.

State BJP spokesman Nikhil Anand said "Singh had been tormented by the pettiness of the RJDs new generation of leaders. Who can forget Tej Pratap Yadavs denigrating remarks?"

READ: Raghuvansh Singh's resignation from RJD unfortunate: Congress MP

With agency inputs