Lalu: No hard feelings if Cabinet berth denied

With little hope of getting "sympathetic treatment" from the Congress top brass, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Wednesday appeared resigned to his fate, saying he would not feel bad over being denied a Cabinet berth.

Asked whether he was hopeful of getting a berth in the UPA Government, a visibly perturbed Lalu said: "Why are you asking me this question? It is the Prime Minister's prerogative." He, however, refrained from saying anything against Congress president Sonia Gandhi and said he still shared a good relationship with her as well as Manmohan Singh.

He told reporters that there was no reason to feel bad about being denied a berth in the Government as "ups and downs were part of a politician's life". The RJD chief went on to reiterate that he had given unconditional support to the UPA and was happy that his "mission" of not allowing the BJP to come to power had been successful.

Pointing out that all was not over for him, he said he would go back to the people and earn their support once again.

Lalu's annoyance comes not only from the fact that the Congress has been keeping him at an arm's length but also because inside his own party there are voices calling for only outside support to the UPA. Rural Development Minister in the outgoing Government and RJD vice-president Raghuvansh Prasad Singh has gone on record to say that "we (RJD) should provide outside support as more time needs to be devoted to rejuvenate the party at the grassroots".

Interestingly, this comes amidst reports that considering Raghuvansh's commendable performance as the Rural Development Minister, the Congress leadership is eager to accommodate him instead of Lalu.

Meanwhile, PTI reports from Patna said the RPF security at the bungalow of the former railway minister was quietly restored on Wednesday. On Tuesday, PTI had reported that personnel deployed at the 10, Circular Road residence of Lalu were withdrawn following instructions from the RPF headquarters. When contacted, Chief Security Commissioner, East Central Railway, Neeraj Sinha said the security personnel would continue to guard the bungalow till further orders. The bungalow, where Lalu stays in Patna, is allotted in the name of his wife and former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi.