New tape brings Republic to limelight and puts Lalu in bad light

Patna: Scorching sun and expose' by Republic , a come-back channel for noted anchor, Arnab Goswami, on the inaugural day, made the political climate hotter in Bihar on Saturday.While the expose' gave a talking point to general people in the state, to the main opposition, the Bharatiya Janata Party, it provided a stick to beat the coalition government headed by Nitish Kumar.

To outsiders who have cried hoarse over alleged politician-criminal nexus it might have given a feeling of relief. For, they have been vindicated.

The channel has released a tape which shows former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav conversing on phone with a jail bird Shahabuddin who is facing a number of criminal cases including one filed in connection with murder of a journalist. Expectedly, the tape has gone viral on the social media.

The tape must have caused a good deal of embarrassment to the chief minister who had formed an alliance with him on the eve of last assembly elections in the state, after years of estranged relationship.

Pressure has been put on him not only by the main opposition but also his protege Jeetan Manjhi for whom he had vacated his chair last year to unseat him later.

While Lalu's Rashtriya Janata Dal colleagues have questioned the genuineness of the tape and taken refuse in its alleged ingenuity , Manjhi and many others have demanded immediate action against him.

Leader of opposition in the state assembly Sushil Modi has demanded central invention. Some others have demanded dismissal of the government and imposition of Prsident's rule as Lalu's party is a major coalition partner.

The Centre is unlikely to oblige the critics and Nitish will continue to rule but only with a broken image. More so because the expose has come in the wake of allegation that Lalu and his family members have amassed huge wealth through shell companies

Modi who has congratulated the channel for the expose, has also taken to Tweet to condemn Shabuddin. Says he,

https://twitter.com/SushilModi/status/860720421301362688