BJP will court disaster by projecting Advani for PM's post'Lalu

New Delhi, May 1 (UNI) Railway Minister Lalu Prasad today said the BJP would be inviting its nemesis by projecting Mr Lal Krishna Advani as the party's prime ministerial candidate.

''BJP ka bhattha baith jayga agar wo party L K Advani ko pradhan mantri pad ke liye chunta hai (The BJP will meet its nemesis if Mr Advani's name is proposed for the prime minister's post),'' Mr Prasad told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.

He was responding to a query from journalists, who sought his comment on BJP President Rajnath Singh's interview to NDTV wherein he said that Mr Advani would be the party's prime ministerial candidate if it secured majority in the next general elections. ''The fortunes of the BJP have already plummeted. By projecting Mr Advani as the prime ministerial candidate, its fortunes would hit rock bottom,'' said Mr Prasad, whose political animosity with the veteran BJP leader is well-known.

Mr Prasad, as the chief minister of Bihar, had stopped Mr Advani's rath yatra in Bihar in 1991 and even despatched him to jail.

With regard to Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the Rashtriya Janata Dal chief said he (Vajpayee) ''has a liberal image. Unki baat aur hai (his case is different).'' Mr Prasad also demanded arrest of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for the killings of Sohrabuddin and his wife Kausar Bi in 'fake' police encounters.

UNI