Railway minister Lalu Prasad gets a sliver crown at a programme in Patna on Sunday. Picture by Deepak Kumar

Patna, Jan. 4: After IIM, Ahmedabad, and Harvard University, Lalu Prasad is all set to share the success mantra of Indian Railways with students in Japan.

The railway minister will leave for Japan on a 10-day trip on January 11 following an invitation from the Japan government, Lalu Prasad’s political aide and RJD spokesman Shyam Rajak said.

“The railway minister will deliver lectures at some universities in Japan, including one in Tokyo, on the turnaround of Indian Railways besides studying the functioning of the railways in Japan,” Rajak said.

The railway minister today attended a couple of programmes here today on the occasion of the 125th birth anniversary of India’s first President, Rajendra Prasad. Lalu Prasad also installed the statue of Rajendra Prasad at Rajendra Nagar railway station.

In 2006, he had invited wrath from former railway minister and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar for installing Mahatma Gandhi’s statue at Motihari railway station. Nitish had said that installing statues at railway stations was against the Indian Railways convention for no stations had a statue of any of the leaders in the past. But Lalu Prasad has been determined even today when Rajendra Prasad’s statue was erected.

Lalu Prasad also said his party would strive for constitutional amendment to provide 10 per cent reservation for poor among upper castes in government services if it mustered enough strength in Parliament.

The railway minister said poverty existed in all sections of the society, including the upper castes, who deserve reservation in government services. “The Supreme Court had fixed the limit of 50 per cent for all sorts of reservation in government services and the current level of reservation has reached that level,” he said, adding constitutional amendment would be required to extend the limit and provide 10 per cent reservation to upper castes in government services.