Laloo gives Paswan a cold shoulder

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><span style="" font-family:="" arial="" font-size:="">PATNA: The cold war between railway minister Laloo Prasad Yadav and LJP supremo Ram Vilas Paswan intensified on Saturday with the former declaring that RJD victory in recent Lok Sabha election was not the result of its alliance with Lok Janshakti Party (LJP).It was the trust that the people had bestowed upon him, Laloo said. He was talking to the mediapersons at his residence.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-family:="" arial="" font-size:="">"We are not dependent on anybody. If Paswan is so capable, why did his alliance not win in the last assembly elections in Bihar when Rabri Devi was restored to power as the chief minister," he said.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-family:="" arial="" font-size:="">Asked about his love-hate relationship with Paswan, Laloo refused to make any straight comments but said that the elections are over for now and whether we are still alliance partners, people would come to know during the coming assembly elections in February.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-family:="" arial="" font-size:="">Regarding the issue of giving Rajya Sabha ticket to LJP leader Narendra Singh, which generated a lot of furore, he said that Paswan did not ask for it. "Khairat nahi na hai ki kisi ko bhi de denge," he explained.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-family:="" arial="" font-size:="">Speaking about other issues, he said that his first priority as rail minister is modernisation of railways together with ensuring safety. </span><br /><br /><span style="" font-family:="" arial="" font-size:="">He also said that a DMU train would run between Patna Junction to Digha via R-block and secretariat, which would help combat the growing traffic to some extent.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-family:="" arial="" font-size:="">"To ensure the right price to the farmers, special facilities would be provided in trains to market their produce to different states," he said. </span><br /><br /><span style="" font-family:="" arial="" font-size:="">A bogey containing vegetables produced by farmers of Bihar would be flagged off to Delhi by Laloo on Sunday afternoon.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-family:="" arial="" font-size:="">He also said that he is thankful to Sonia Gandhi for paying heed to his request for not increasing the price of kerosene oil, which would have badly affected the poor of the country.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-family:="" arial="" font-size:="">However, regarding the price hike of petroleum, diesel and LPG, he said that it is difficult to keep a check on them as they are governed by world prices.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-family:="" arial="" font-size:="">On the issue of the death in police encounter of a Mumbai girl Ishrat Sheikh who is said to have lived in Patna, he said that the home ministry should get an investigation conducted to bring out the real facts.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-family:="" arial="" font-size:="">As usual, he did not fail to take a dig at former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Mentioning the BJP''s Chhapra debacle, he said that on one occasion in Kolkata, Vajpayee had said that ballot papers were torn in Chhapra, when they are no longer in use. </span><br /><br /><span style="" font-family:="" arial="" font-size:="">He said that Vajpayee''s brain has derailed in old age. "Probably even I would behave like him in old age," he added.</span></div> </div>