Lalu Prasad Yadav

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Lalu Prasad Yadav
Laluprasadyadav.jpg
Lalu Prasad Yadav at a political rally in January 2007, at Kesariya, Bihar, India.
Minister of Railways
In office
24 May 2004 – 22 May 2009
Preceded by Nitish Kumar
Succeeded by Mamata Banerjee
Constituency Saran
Member of the Indian Parliament
for Saran
Succeeded by President's rule
In office
4 April 1995 – 25 July 1997
Preceded by President's rule
Succeeded by Rabri Devi
Member of the Indian Parliament
for Chapra
In office
24 May 2004 – 22 May 2009
Preceded by Rajiv Pratap Rudy
Succeeded by Constituency delimitated
In office
23 March 1977 – 22 August 1979
Preceded by Ramshekhar Prasad Singh
Succeeded by Staya Deo Singh
In office
2 December 1989 – 13 March 1991
Preceded by Rambahadur Singh
Succeeded by Lal Babu Rai
Personal details
Born (1948-06-11) 11 June 1948 (age 65)[1]
Gopalganj, Bihar[2]
Political party Rashtriya Janata Dal
Spouse(s) Rabri Devi
Residence 10, Circular Road, Patna
25, Tuglak Road, New Delhi-11
Alma mater Patna University
Religion Hindu
Website rashtriyajanatadal.com
As of 25 September, 2006

Lalu Prasad Yadav (Devanāgarī: लालू प्रसाद यादव) (born 11 June 1948) is an Indian politician from Bihar. He was the Minister of Railways from 2004 to 2009 in the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, Chief Minister of Bihar from 1990 to 1997 and is the President of the Rashtriya Janata Dal political party. He is a Member of Parliament in the 15th Lok Sabha from the Saran constituency in Bihar.

He entered politics during his student days at Patna University, and he was elected a member of the Lok Sabha in 1977 as a Janata party candidate. At the age of 29 he was one of its youngest members of Parliament.[3] Yadav became Chief Minister of Bihar in 1990 but resigned in 1997 following escalating corruption charges relating to the Fodder Scam. From 1997 to 2005, with brief interruptions, his wife Rabri Devi was the Chief Minister. Her political opponents often accused her as having served as his "surrogate."[4] His tenure as Chief Minister of the state has been criticized for lawlessness and has been termed as the Jungle Raj.[5]

He is famous for his charismatic leadership and mass appeal,[6][7] but has been criticized for promoting and encouraging caste-based politics[7] and the corruption cases against him.[8]

Contents

Biography[edit]

Lalu Prasad Yadav was born in Phulwaria,block Mirganj,district Gopalganj of Bihar. His father's name is Shri [9] Kundan Rai and his mother's name is Shrimati Marchiya Devi.[10] He holds a degree in Bachelor of Laws and a master's in Political science from B. N. College,under Patna University. He turned down Patna University's Honorary Doctorate in 2004.[11] Lalu Prasad Yadav has done his schooling from 1st standard to 7th standard, at Bihar Military Police No-5 middle school.He did matriculation in 1965.[12] Yadav married Rabri Devi on 1 June 1973.[3] They have seven daughters and two sons.[13] His daughters are: Misha Bharti, Rohini Acharya, Chanda, Ragini,Dhannu, Hema, Lakshmi; Sons are Tej Pratap, Tejasvi.

Lalu Prasad Yadav served as the Chief Minister of Bihar two times, first for a term of five years from 10 March 1990 to 28 March 1995[12] and then for a term of three years from 4 April 1995 to 25 July 1997. Lalu Prasad Yadav also served as the Railway Minister of India from 2004 to 2009. He is member of Parliament of India for Saran(Chhapra) and National President of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).

Political career[edit]

Lalu Prasad Yadav entered politics as General Secretary of the Patna University Students' Union in 1970. He led the student movement inspired by Jai Prakash Narayan, Raj Narain, Karpoori Thakur and Satyendra Narayan Sinha. The former Chief Minister of Bihar and the then President of Bihar State[14] Janata Party, Satyendra Narayan Sinha supported him as a candidate for the Lok Sabha and campaigned for him.[15][16] He was elected as a member of the 6th Lok Sabha on a Janata Party ticket at the age 29, becoming one of the youngest members of the Indian Parliament at the time.

In a span of 10 years, Yadav became a formidable force in Bihar State politics, known for his popularity among the Muslim and Yadav voters.[17] The Muslims in Bihar had traditionally served as a Congress (I) vote bank, but after the 1989 Bhagalpur violence, they shifted their loyalty to Yadav.[18] During the Indian general elections in 1989 and state assembly elections, he successfully led the National Front coalition in Bihar. He was elected the Chief Minister leaving behind Ram Sundar Das, a former chief minister from the same party, when it came to power in the 1990 Assembly elections. The World Bank lauded his party for its work in the 1990s on the economic front.[19]

A report was published by the BBC news in 1996 according to which the police unearthed a Rs.9.50 billion (US$267M), Fodder Scam in Bihar, which allegedly involved Yadav and the State's leading bureaucrats and politicians, albeit the probe itself was ordered by him. He claimed it to be an Opposition conspiracy to stop his political growth.[20] The fodder scam forced Yadav to resign from the office of Chief Minister and he made his wife, Rabri Devi, his successor as the state's Chief Minister.[21]

In May 2012, Lalu Prasad Yadav envisaged Hamid Ansari, currently the Vice-President, as a presidential candidate. .[22] In May, 2013, Lalu Yadav tried to rejuvenate the party and fuel the party workers in his Parivartan Rally.[23]

Rashtriya Janata Dal[edit]

RJD Flag

Yadav formed the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in 5 July 1996,[24] after breaking away from the Janata Dal. According to Limca Book of Records, he is the longest serving president of an Indian Political Party.[25] He remained in power in Bihar for more than one and a half decades. In November 2005 elections, his party, the RJD, could win just 54 seats, which put his party in third place, after the Janata Dal United (JDU) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Nitish Kumar led coalition, consisting of JD(U) and BJP, came to power. In the 2010 elections, RJD tally was reduced to just 22 seats whereas the ruling alliance claimed a record 206 out of the 243 Assembly seats.[26]

Tenure as a Union Minister[edit]

Yadav was elected to the 14th Lok Sabha from Chhapra and Madhepura seats of Bihar. He was able to defeat the high profile BJP leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy from Chhapra and the JD(U) president Sharad Yadav from Madhepura. He became the railway minister in the UPA Government. Later, he gave up the Madhepura seat.

Yadav banned plastic cups from being used to serve tea at railway stations and ordered that they be replaced by kulhars (earthen cups), to generate more employment in rural areas.[27] Later, he also said that he had plans to introduce buttermilk[28] and khādī.[29] In June 2004, he announced that he would get on the railway himself to inspect its problems and went on to board the Patna railway station at midnight.[30]

When he took over, the Indian Railways was a loss-making organization. In the 4 years under his leadership, it made a cumulative total profit of Rs.250 billion (US $5.2 billion).

He left passenger fares untouched and found several other profitable sources of revenue for the Railways. He also improved on his first year's performance by stating a profit of 140 billion with decreased freight and unchanged passenger fares in 2006. Then, in the 2007 budget, he increased the profit level to 200 billion with the introduction of cushion seats in all unreserved compartments. In 2008, profits were 250 billion (equals US $6.25 billion @ $1~Rs.40)

Well known schools of management were interested in Yadav's leadership in managing the turnaround (with more or less the same IAS officers & the same workforce who worked under the previous ministers). He went to and addressed over a hundred students from Harvard, Wharton and others in Hindi. He has received invitations from 8 Ivy League schools for lectures.[31] In August 2008, CNN-IBN alleged that Yadav had misused his position as the Union Railway Minister to help his relatives acquire land.[32] Earlier Railway ministers and his political opponents Mamata Banerjee & Nitish Kumar have raised doubts over Lalu's achievements.[33]

In popular culture[edit]

Recently, a very popular book "Garibon ke Masiha Evam Jan Nayak - Lalu Prasad Yadav" was launched by renowned author and writer Sri Sanjay Suman .Yadav has a sizable fan following in Bollywood, which includes actors Sunil Shetty and Raza Murad and directors Mahesh Manjrekar and Mahesh Bhatt to name a few. Indian actor turned politician Shatrughan Sinha, who is a political opponent of Yadav, once said, "Had Yadav not been a politician he could have been an actor".[34] Mahesh Bhatt has gone to the extent of saying that Yadav deserves to become Prime Minister of India.[35] A Bollywood movie titled Padmashree Laloo Prasad Yadav was released in 2004. Though his name appeared in the title, the movie was not about him, but had characters named Padmashreee, Laloo, Prasad and Yadav, however the politician made a guest appearance in it.

These incidences are viewed by some people as an attempt by the mainstream media to make deliberate fun of Yadav's accent although the movie was not a big hit.

Criticisms and controversies[edit]

Corruption allegations[edit]

Yadav has been charged in several corruption cases,[36] the most infamous being the "Fodder Scam" in which about Rs.9.50 billion (US $211.85 million) were siphoned off from the animal husbandry department. Laloo Yadav has been an accused in many of the 63-odd cases filed. He has been remanded to custody on multiple occasions because of the number of cases. Over 64 people have been convicted in the case. "Lalu accused in six fodder scam cases". Outlook. 25 April 2005. Retrieved 2006-05-29. 

"The ride to Ranchi". Frontline. December 2001. Retrieved 2006-05-29.  Yadav was first sent to "Judicial remand" (Bihar Military Police guest house, Patna) on 30 July 1997, for 134 days.[37] On 28 October 1998, he was again sent to the same guest house for 73 days. When the Supreme Court of India took exception to his guest house stay, he had also moved to the Beur jail in Patna. He was later remanded for 11 days on 5 April 2000, in a disproportionate assets case. He surrendered along with his wife, Rabri Devi, and was sent to the Beur Jail.[37] Due to the proceedings in the fodder scam, Yadav was remanded for a day in Beur jail on 28 November 2000.

On 26 November 2001, Yadav was again remanded, in a case related to the fodder scam.[38] He accused the NDA of creating a conspiracy against him. On 1 October 2004, the Supreme Court of India served a notice to Yadav and his wife, Rabri Devi, on the fodder scam. This was in response to a petition, which alleged that they have been interfering with late in the investigation.

Accusations against the BJP[edit]

On 5 August 2004, Yadav claimed that L. K. Advani, a senior BJP leader and the Leader of the Opposition was an accused in a conspiracy to kill Muhammad Ali Jinnah and described him as an 'international absconder'. On 14 September 2004, Lalu asked L. K. Advani to come clean on 'his involvement' in the alleged conspiracy to assassinate the founder of Pakistan, Mohammed Ali Jinnah.[39]

On 28 September 2004, Lalu alleged Mr. Venkaiah Naidu, the then Union Rural Minister, of having sold 55,000 tonnes of wheat in the group of drought relief distribution in AP. "A CBI probe will be initiated to find the truth" he said.[40]

Use of Osama bin Laden's look-alike[edit]

While campaigning for Bihar elections in 2005, both Lalu Prasad Yadav and Ram Vilas Paswan used a look-alike of Osama bin Laden to woo Muslim voters. The look-alike would dress like bin Laden, accompany them in their helicopter to various election meetings, share the stage with them and make speeches that attacked the United States for its alleged anti-Muslim activities.[41][42] Pramod Mahajan, senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party, had criticized both leaders for this by saying that they were "glorifying the name of a man who is recognised as the most wanted terrorist in the world."[42]

Positions held[edit]

  • 1977: Elected to the 6th Lok Sabha at the age of 29.
  • 1980–1989: Member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly (two terms).
  • 1989: Becomes the leader of Opposition, Bihar Legislative Assembly, Chairman, Pustakalaya Committee, Convenor, Committee on Public Undertakings, Re-elected to the 9th Lok Sabha (2nd term).
  • 1990–1995: Member of the Bihar Legislative Council.
Yadav together with Ram Vilas Paswan and Amar Singh at a party rally in Mumbai during the 2009 general elections.
  • 1990–1997: Chief Minister of Bihar.
  • 1995–1998: Member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly.
  • 1996: Lalu's name springs up in a major scam.
  • 1997: parts with the Janata Dal and forms the Rashtriya Janata Dal.
  • 1998: Re-elected to 12th Lok Sabha (3rd term).
  • 1998–1999: Member, General Purposes Committee, Committee on Home Affairs and its Sub Committee on Swatantrata Sainik Samman Pension Scheme, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
  • 2004: Re-elected to the 14th Lok Sabha (4th term). Appointed Cabinet Minister in the Ministry of Railways. In 2004, he was elected to the Lok Sabha with his party emerging as a key member of the UPA.
  • 2009: Re-elected to the 15th Lok Sabha (5th term).

See also[edit]

Reference Footnotes[edit]

  1. ^ While the Indian media was unsure as to the spelling of Mr. Yadav's name, in June 2004, he issued a clarification to the media to endure that his name was spelt as Lalu and not Laloo."It's Lalu not Laloo and it's official (June 24, 2004)". Rediff.com. Retrieved 2006-05-08. 
  2. ^ "B’day bash only when communal forces are wiped out: Laloo". Daily Excelsior. Retrieved 2006-05-08. 
  3. ^ a b Lalu Prasad Yadav
  4. ^ "Rabri's kitchen instinct". India Today. Retrieved 2009-04-28. 
  5. ^ Reuters. 14 April 2009 http://blogs.reuters.com/india/2009/04/14/bihar-after-the-jungle-raj/ |url= missing title (help). 
  6. ^ Amita Malik. "Laloo in Wonderland". The Tribune. Retrieved 2006-05-18. 
  7. ^ a b Amberish K Diwanji. "Laloo in a rascal, but I will vote for him". Rediff.com. Retrieved 2007-02-25. 
  8. ^ Laloo Prasad taken into custody, BBC News, 5 April 2000
  9. ^ Lucent's Bihar General Knowledge, Lucent Publication, Page No- 328
  10. ^ Lalu Prasad Yadav, "The darling of the masses and the favourite whipping-boy of the media, Lalu Prasad Yadav is one person who defies stereotypes. he is the present Union Railways Minister."
  11. ^ "Laloo says 'no' to PU doctorate". The Times Of India. 11 January 2004. 
  12. ^ a b Lucent's Bihar General Knowledge, Lucent's Publication, Page No- 328
  13. ^ Thakurta, Paranjoy Guha (8 May 2004). "The durability of Laloo Prasad Yadav". Business Line. Retrieved 24 February 2012. 
  14. ^ Bihar chief ministership battle 1977. Retrieved 2007-06-04. 
  15. ^ "Lok Sabha Debates". Retrieved 2007-07-10. 
  16. ^ A J Philip. "Satyendra Narayan Sinha". The Tribune. Retrieved 2006-09-05. 
  17. ^ Girish Kuber (26 January 2005). "Vox Populi: Laloo 'castes' his spell on Bihar". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2013-02-08. 
  18. ^ India Today. Aroon Purie for Living Media India Limited. 1995. p. 156. Retrieved 2013-02-08. 
  19. ^ "World Bank Report: Bihar - Towards a Development Strategy". World Bank. Retrieved 2006-05-23. 
  20. ^ "More charges framed against Lalu Yadav". The Tribune. Retrieved 2006-05-08. 
  21. ^ "Profile: Laloo Prasad Yadav". BBC News. Retrieved 2006-05-08. 
  22. ^ Tewary Amarnath.Lalu pitches for Hamid Ansari as next Prez
  23. ^ http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-05-15/india/39281058_1_parivartan-rally-lalu-nitish-kumar
  24. ^ Rashtriya Janata Dal : Un-Official Website
  25. ^ "Laloo enters Limca Book of Records". The Tribune. Retrieved 2006-08-24. 
  26. ^ http://news.oneindia.in/2010/11/24/bihar-assembly-election-2010-results-rjd-jdu.html.  Missing or empty |title= (help)
  27. ^ "Lalu's 'kulhad', a flop in Bihar". The Times of India. 1 May 2005. Retrieved 2006-05-23. 
  28. ^ "Lalu spares passengers; freight untouched". Chennai, India: The Hindu. 7 July 2004. Retrieved 2006-05-18. 
  29. ^ "Lalu refuses to be CEO, Railways India". The Times of India. 5 May 2006. Retrieved 2006-05-18. 
  30. ^ "Laloo's night out at Patna station". Deccan Herald. 15 June 2004. Retrieved 2006-05-18. [dead link]
  31. ^ The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Main News
  32. ^ Investigation unearths Lalu's land-for-job scam
  33. ^ "Lalu a juggler, Nitish echoes Mamata". The Economic Times. 11 July 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-11. 
  34. ^ Amarnath Tiwary. "Laloo's Filmi Fans". Bihar Times (coutsey:Outlook). Retrieved 2006-08-10. [dead link]
  35. ^ . Deccan Herald http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/july042004/sl4.asp. Retrieved 2012-02-24.  Missing or empty |title= (help)[dead link]
  36. ^ Laloo Prasad taken into custody, BBC News, 5 April 2000
  37. ^ a b "The ride to Ranchi". Frontline. December 2001. Retrieved 2006-05-29. 
  38. ^ Ahmed Soroor Laloo Prasad Yadav surrenders before CBI special court, 26 November 2001
  39. ^ "Laloo to Advani: Come clean on Jinnah murder". Press Trust of India. 14 September 2004. Retrieved 2006-08-09. 
  40. ^ "Laloo seeks CBI probe against NDA". expressindia.com. 28 September 2004. Retrieved 2006-08-09. 
  41. ^ Mishra, Bisheshwar (19 January 2005). "Paswan employs Osama clone". The Times of India. Retrieved 14 September 2012. 
  42. ^ a b Mishra, Deepak (3 May 2011). "The other Osama who had a brief brush with fame". The Telegraph (Calcutta). Retrieved 14 September 2012. 

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lalu Prasad Yadav
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Lalu Prasad Yadav
Political offices
Preceded by
Nitish Kumar		 Minister of Railways
25 May 2004 – 18 May 2009		 Succeeded by
Mamata Banerjee
Preceded by
Jagannath Mishra		 Chief Minister of Bihar
1990–1997		 Succeeded by
Rabri Devi
Early leaders
Leaders after independence
Dalit writers
Dalit literature
Dalit events and movements
Dalit social and political parties
Social group
Political parties
Leaders of Janata Dal
Prime Ministers of Janata Dal
Janata Dal's Election Symbol
Current leaders of Janata Dal
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