Lalu emotionally exploited minorities : Shivanand

Patna, Nov 3 (UNI) Beleagured RJD leader Shivanand Tiwari today accused party supremo Lalu Prasad of emotionally exploiting the minorities.

Mr Tiwari said the tone and tenor of speeches delivered by Mr Prasad during the Gujarat assembly elections went against the interests of minorities and also helped Chief Minister Narendra Modi in consolidating his mass base.

''Later Mr Modi had also expressed his gratitude to Mr Prasad for this nature of support,'' Mr Tiwari added.

He dismissed Mr Prasad's allegation that JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav had advised him not to arrest BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani during his Rath Yatra in 1990. ''Instead Mr Yadav had sought Mr Advani's arrest, as I was present at CM's residence during the conversation between Mr Prasad and Mr Yadav,'' he claimed.

''Both Mr Yadav and Mr Nitish Kumar had supported the candidature of Mr Prasad for Chief Ministership of Bihar while the then Prime Minister V P Singh had thrown his weight behind former Chief Minister Ram Sunder Das,'' he recalled to another question.

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