Sadhu, Shahabuddin

Patna, July 9: A feud between Rashtriya Janata Dal leaders Sadhu Yadav and Mohammad Shahabuddin has put Laloo Prasad Yadav in a spot.

So far, the RJD boss has sided with the Siwan MP, angering brother-in-law Sadhu, who has accused Laloo Prasad of having turned a “puppet” in the hands of aides.

The Gopalganj MP has openly warned Laloo Prasad to change his style of functioning, “tame” Shahabuddin and save the party from his influence ? or be prepared to lose the upcoming state elections.

The quarrel between the MPs started at last week’s national party conference in Patna where Shahabuddin indirectly criticised the “nepotism” within the RJD.

Later, he allegedly blamed “interference” by Laloo Prasad’s in-laws for the party’s decline in the recent past and asked the railway minister to dump them.

Sadhu retaliated by calling Shahabuddin “a criminal, kidnapper and a slur on the Muslim community”. As long as the party is under the Siwan MP’s influence, Sadhu said, it has no hope of revival.

He was promptly rebuffed by Laloo Prasad, who declared at a railway function in Siwan yesterday: “He (Shahabuddin) is a strong pillar of the party.”

The RJD chief went on to describe Shahabuddin’s critics as people who cannot stand a Muslim becoming popular and prosperous.

At another function in Gopalganj, Sadhu’s parliamentary constituency, Laloo Prasad handed his relative another snub by dining at the home of Sadhu-baiter and Shahabuddin supporter Yaduvansh Giri.

The brother-in-law reacted at once, saying Laloo Prasad had turned a friend of the rich from a saviour of the poor. “Laloo has become a puppet in the hands of people like Shahabuddin and Shivanand Tiwari,” he fumed.

Today, in an interview to a select group of journalists, Sadhu warned the RJD chief to “act in time and curtail Shahabuddin’s negative impact on the party or else be doomed in the next elections”.

Sadhu has vowed not to allow Shahabuddin’s dictates to run in Gopalganj. “He may do what he wants in Siwan; but I will not allow him to control the party affairs or intervene in Gopalganj,” he said, referring to the allocation of tickets for the upcoming Assembly elections.

“I want the party to be cadre-based. I move with our party workers and care for them. But Lalooji now appears to be with the rich and for the rich. This should change,” Sadhu said.

Shahabuddin, so far, has chosen to ignore Sadhu’s attacks.

Party sources said the RJD boss is in a fix.

“He has already spoken to Sadhu more than once and advised him to shut up and not precipitate a crisis,” a Laloo Prasad aide said. “We can only wait and see what he would do now.”