I have this complaint that I was ridiculed; called a joker

'Am I only to blame for Bihar mess?' The Times of India Saturday, December 10, 2005

PATNA: RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Friday broke his silence after the assembly poll debacle to ask, "Will you put the entire blame of Bihar's ills on my 15-year regime?" Though visibly mellowed down, the inimitable railway ministry boss as usual offered many quotable quotes which, for a change, didn't evoke laughter. Instead, the audience at the seminar on Bihar's image, organised at the Gandhi Sangrahalaya here on Friday, listened to him in rapt attention.

Lalu complained he had been unfairly targeted by the "ruling class" and the media. "It is because I took power from the hands of a select class of people and gave it to the downtrodden," he said, adding, "This is what the JP agitation was all about." He said he does not regret losing power in Bihar. "But I have this complaint that I was ridiculed; called a joker," he said. Lalu also spoke about the Mandal Commission and implementation of its recommendations. "I have been charged with giving rise to casteism. During the last polls, it was I who gave a call for all Biharis to unite for the development of the state." I was charged with looting Bihar.