Misplaced optimism

• RJD leaders have been aggressive in their defence of RJD chief Lalu Prasad and have expressed hope that their chief would be out of jail even after the Ranchi CBI special court convicted him in yet another fodder scam case. But as the court staggered the pronouncement of quantum of punishment, their statements sounded frustrating. But it was state RJD chief Ram Chandra Purbey who began to sound optimistic. On January 5, he issued a statement that he was confident that Laluji would be present in Patna to address the RJD meeting at 10 Circular Road on January 6. Even senior RJD leaders were amused. "We are making statements saying that Laluji will get less prison sentence. But Purbeyji is talking about freedom. It is optimism but a misplaced one," said a senior leader. Old-timers recall that when Lalu was making his first journey to Ranchi to appear in the CBI court, Purbeyji compared it to Gandhi's Dandi March. "Nothing wrong about being always optimistic," said the senior RJD leader.

Twitter silence

• After the CBI special court in Ranchi issued notices to RJD leaders, the party leaders went either silent or defensive. The Twitter handles of RJD, Tejashwi Prasad and Lalu Prasad did not issue a single tweet while Raghuvansh Prasad Singh declared that he had never cast aspersions on the court. Even Tej Pratap, who is known for making outrageous statements, remained silent. It was only Shivanand Tiwari (in picture) who retained his aggressive posture against the judiciary. It worried RJD leaders. "What is Baba (as Tiwari is called in political circles) trying to do? Make the judge more angry?" amused a senior RJD leader. They recalled that even during past elections, Tiwari made aggressive statements against the Election Commission. Some of them alleged that Baba was trying for a Rajya Sabha seat this year by proving his loyalty to Lalu.

 

Financial matters

• The staggered verdict on the quantum of punishment for Lalu appears to have taken its toll on the finances of RJD leaders staying in Ranchi. "This show of solidarity with Laluji is proving costly. I came thinking it would be a one-day affair. But it has been prolonged," said an RJD MLA, who had taken 20 of his followers and is a part of the crowd who assemble outside Ranchi court whenever Lalu makes an appearance. He grumbled that he was already bleeding financially paying for the food and lodging of his followers. "But going away can imply danger for my ticket," he confessed.

Court disguise

• Despite the presence of a large number of security persons in and around the court, it was surprising how any RJD supporter could get on the court premises despite restrictions imposed on outsiders. "It was easy. Just wore a black coat and took my followers inside the court premises, claiming to be a lawyer who had to appear in another court with my clients," said an RJD office-bearer.