Shatrughan calls Lalu his ‘best friend’
BJP has highest MPS/MLAS with declared crime against women cases: ADR
PATNA: Actor-politician and BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha on Friday described jailed Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad as his “best friend”.
“Many blessings to my best friend Laluji’s son Tej Pratap on his engagement to lovely Aishwariya Rai. Hope and pray that Laluji stays in commanding position as ever,” the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Patna Saheb tweeted.
Tej Pratap Yadav, the elder son of Lalu Prasad, last week got engaged with RJD leader Chandrika Rai’s daughter Aishwarya Rai here.
Sinha said he hoped the former Bihar Chief Minister got bail sooner than later.
Sinha recently met Lalu Prasad’s wife and former Chief Minister Rabri Devi and his younger son Tejashwi Yadaav.
Earlier, he met Lalu Prasad in a Ranchi hospital where the latter had been shifted from jail last month and said the RJD supremo was a “victim of conspiracy of circumstances”.
Separately, the BJP leads recognised political parties with the highest number of 12 lawmakers at the central and state levels who have declared cases of crime against women against them, followed by Shiv Sena and TMC, Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) said on Thursday. After the Bharatiya Janata Party comes Shiv Sena with seven such MPS/MLAS, and Trinamool Congress with six,” the ADR said in a report.
All major political parties give tickets to candidates with cases of crime against women, especially rape, and therefore hinder the safety and dignity of women as citizens, said ADR, which along with the National Election Watch analysed the election afidavits of current MPS and MLAS.
“These are serious cases wherein charges have been framed and cognisance taken by courts. Hence, political parties have been, in a way, abetting to circumstances that lead to such events that they so easily but vehemently condemn in Parliament,” the report added.
Out of 1,580 MPS/MLAS whose particulars were analysed for declared criminal cases (33 per cent of the total), 48 lawmakers — 45 MLAS and three MPS — have declared cases of crime against women.
Among the states, Maharashtra has the highest number of 12 such MPS/ MLAS, followed by West Bengal (11), Odisha and Andhra Pradesh (5 each), said the Delhi-based think tank.
Recognised political parties gave tickets to 327 candidates who declared cases related to crime against women. Of these, 40 were given tickets by parties for Parliamentary elections.