Chief minister Nitish Kumar and deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi light a traditional lamp to inaugurate the video-conferencing facility for public information officers (PIOs) and RTI applicants at an event in Patna on Thursday. The facility was launched in the presence of chief information commissioners from Chhattisgarh, Punjab and Bengal. On the occasion, PIOs Arun Kumar Sinha from electricity board, Shubh Chandra Jha from water resources department, Ravindra Narayan Chaurasia of Lalit Narayan Mithila University, Ajay Kumar Sinha from rural development department and Amitabh Sinha, the jail superintendent of Munger, were felicitated by Nitish for good performance. Picture by Deepak Kumar, text by Amit Bhelari

Patna, July 28: Chief minister Nitish Kumar today resorted to pun and sarcasm to hit back at RJD chief Lalu Prasad, who was at his rhetorical best yesterday attacking the chief minister for his “failure on all fronts” and also declaring to dethrone the NDA-II from power ahead of completion of its tenure.

“Laluji aise admi hain ki kabhi sudhrenge nahin, kabhi parivartit nahin honge (Lalu Yadav will never change for the better),” Nitish said, reacting to comments of the RJD chief yesterday.

Speaking on the sidelines of an Right to Information Act function, Nitish said: “Take my words, there is hardly any chance of improvement in Laluji. If he says something, let him do so. I have nothing to say on what he (Lalu) says.”

“I read in the newspapers that he would go to the villagers and ask why they rejected him. I would suggest him that before going to the people, he (Lalu) should ask the question to himself,” the chief minister said. He added: “I am again telling you that Laluji would never change the way he thinks and works.”

On the RJD boss’s accusation that he had sent SUVs in the state hinterland to procure signatures in the name of special category status to bolster his chance of becoming the next prime minister, Nitish said: “See, I am trying to do something for Bihar. Let me ask what he (Lalu) did for the state during his 15 years of rule. I don’t have much to say on his (Lalu’s) interpretation of my actions.”

Supporting Nitish, deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi said: “We miss him (Lalu) when he does not stay in Bihar because we benefit from what he speaks. People suddenly reminisce what the Lalu-Rabri regime did to the state when the RJD chief speaks out. In a way, he helps us politically.”

Modi said even after losing the Assembly polls for the second time in November 2010, Lalu was unable to understand that he was out of power, rejected lock-stock and barrel by the electorate. “Actually, he does not want to believe that he has lost the elections. We can simply pray that he gets the wisdom to realise the reality.”

Chairman of Bihar legislative council Tarakant Jha also slammed Lalu on his comment and said: “He (Lalu) said he does not see any development in the state. If he can’t see the development in the state then I must say that he has gone blind.” Commenting on the absence of three RJD MPs in yesterday’s meet, Jha said: “He (Lalu) must ask himself why people did not vote for his party? Why they threw him out of power? Earlier, there were 24 MPs, now the RJD has just four MPs and three of them choose to remain in Delhi.”

Commenting on the resignation of the Karnataka chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, Nitish said: “He has taken the right decision to resign from the CM’s post. I must thank him for this.”