Miscellaneous
Rival Madhesi alliance critical of SLMM’s meeting with Lalu
Leaders of Sanghiya Samabesi Madhesi Gathabandhan (SSMG), an alliance of four Madhes-based parties, have come down heavily on the meeting between senior Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha leaders and Rastriya Janata Dal (RJD) Chairman Lalu Prasad Yadav. SSMG leaders have said that the meeting has done more harm than good to the ongoing Madhes movement.Leaders of Sanghiya Samabesi Madhesi Gathabandhan (SSMG), an alliance of four Madhes-based parties, have come down heavily on the meeting between senior Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha leaders and Rastriya Janata Dal (RJD) Chairman Lalu Prasad Yadav. SSMG leaders have said that the meeting has done more harm than good to the ongoing Madhes movement.
Sanghiya Samajwadi Forum Nepal Chairman Upendra Yadav, Sadbhawana Party Chairman Rajendra Mahato and Tarai Madhes Sadbhawana Party Chairman Mahendra Raya had met Bihar’s ruling RJD party chief in Patna, Bihar’s provincial capital on Monday.
Talking to the Post, Anil Jha, Chairman of Sanghiya Sadbhawana Party, strongly condemned the visit arguing that the visit was unnecessary after receiving decent reception from New Delhi.
“Visiting leaders must explain to Madhesi people the purpose of their homage to Bihar’s regional leader. Seeking goodwill of Indian government was alright and justifiable as we have been seeking external and internal support at this juncture. But what are they trying to prove by seeking help from Bihar’s regional leaders,” Anil Jha, a SSMG member, told the Post.
Citing a handout photo of a meeting between RJD Chief Yadav and Morcha leaders, SSMG leaders claimed that Morcha leaders had received lowly treatment in Bihar.
RJD leaders are using Morcha leaders and the ongoing Madhes movement as a political instrument against Narendra Modi government, SSMG leader claimed. Yadav, a shrewd politician, is considered one of the foremost critics of Modi government. He was also a key figure in forming anti-Modi alliance in Bihar Assembly election that had obtained a landslide victory in 2015.
“We have evidences that Morcha leaders, alongside RJD national vice president Raghu Bansha Prasad Singh, had publicly criticised Narendra Modi for not pressing Kathmandu hard enough to address demands of Madhesi communities in Muzafferpur,” said Jha.
During the meeting, Lalu reportedly pledged to send 1 million Bihar citizens to take part in Morcha’s upcoming protests.
Similarly, Deputy Prime Minister and chairman of the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (Democratic) Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar have also criticized the meeting terming it ‘shameful’.
“Our revolutionary leaders were seen prostrating in front of Lalu. It looked like a meeting between serfs and master. Isn’t it shameful?” questioned Gachhadar.
Also read: Morcha leaders meet politicians in Bihar