BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi will address a rally in Bihar's Muzaffarpur town March 3, on the same day when RJD chief Lalu Prasad too will hold a big public meeting there.
Authorities in Muzaffarpur, about 70 km from Patna, on Tuesday allotted a ground to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for Modi's rally but refused to allot the same ground to the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) for Lalu Prasad's rally.
"The district administration allotted the ground to the BJP on the basis of first application," a district official said.
However, Muzaffarpur District Magistrate Anupam Kumar said he was unaware of any request made by either the BJP or the RJD to hold a rally.
"We will allot venue for them but will not allow two rallies on the same ground," he said.
BJP leader Giriraj Singh said Modi scored a point over Lalu Prasad.
"It is for Lalu to understand that times have changed. He is no more as powerful as he used to be over a decade ago," Singh said.
After being denied the ground for his rally, Lalu Prasad told media persons that it has again been seen that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has a soft attitude towards Modi.
"I will hold my party rally in Muzaffarpur to challenge Modi. I will face whatever comes in my way. I may have to change the venue for it," he said.
An RJD leader close to the party chief said holding the rally was Lalu Prasad's way of sending a message to Muslims.
"It is more of a symbolic gesture to send a message to the Muslims, his traditional supporters, that Lalu is ready to corner Modi and not Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who is trying to create an anti-Modi image," the RJD leader said.
Nitish Kumar ended his party Janata Dal-United's alliance with the BJP last year.
RJD parliamentarian Ram Kirpal Yadav said Lalu Prasad's public meeting will be bigger than that of Modi.
"In Bihar, Laluji is a mass leader and a big crowd puller. We will attract more people than Modi's rally," Yadav said.
However, BJP state president Mangal Pandey said the party was not taking Lalu Prasad's parallel meeting seriously.
"We are cool and concentrating on making Modi's rally a mega show of strength ahead of the Lok Sabha polls," he said.
RJD leader Ram Chandra Purve said that Lalu Prasad as chief minister in October 1990 stopped BJP leader L.K. Advani's rath yatra in Samastipur district and arrested him.
"It was a courageous act but Lalu proved his commitment to secularism. He challenged Advani then by stopping the Hindutva bandwagon, now he is ready to challenge Modi," he said.
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