India
An unnecessary faux-pas from Lalu Prasad Yadav?
Updated : Aug 27, 2017, 08:19 PM IST
Lalu Prasad Yadav created a stir on Sunday when he shared a picture of Gandhi Maidan on Twitter. The picture was of absolutely jam packed Gandhi Maidan, with a gratuitous message stating, "No "Face" will stand in front of Lalu's "Base". Come & Count as much as u can in Gandhi Maidan, Patna #DeshBachao".
Soon people in the reply to the tweet called out Lalu Prasad Yadav and said that Gandhi Maidan is not fully packed. They shared pictures which show Gandhi Maidan is only half full.
Later news agency ANI also tweeted picture which showed that Lalu Prasad Yadav's picture is probably photoshopped. Now this is not the first time politicians have used photoshopped images or tried to boast about crowd sizes even if it failed to pass journalistic rigour. Sean Spicer's claim about crowd regarding Donald Trump's inauguration was widely panned, although credit to him, he didn't resort to any fake pictures.
Pic shared by Lalu Prasad Yadav
No "Face" will stand in front of Lalu's "Base". Come & Count as much as u can in Gandhi Maidan, Patna #DeshBachao pic.twitter.com/sXoAcpwNKw
— Lalu Prasad Yadav (@laluprasadrjd) August 27, 2017
Lalu's rally pics by ANI
RJD's Patna rally: Picture taken from same point where Lalu Prasad Yadav's purported picture was taken; crowd sizes are different. pic.twitter.com/3QuEsBlQua
— ANI (@ANI) August 27, 2017
RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav's mega rally 'BJP bhagao, Desh bachao' in Patna's Gandhi Maidan saw participation from Samajwadi Party leader and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Benerjee, as well as rebel JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav, who is staring at an expulsion from the party for defying orders.
"Earlier it was rally of the RJD, but now it has become a rally of Mahagatbandhan (grand alliance) to save the country," Yadav told reporters at Jay Prakash Narayan Airport in Patna on his arrival on Saturday. Asked about his party warning that participation in the rally would invite action against him, Yadav refused to make any comment saying "Kuch nahi bolna hain" (I have nothing to say). Meanwhile, a lot of other senior leaders from other parties also shared the dais with RJD leader Lalu Prasad. Earlier, the RJD chief said that the rally would be an important event ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha polls in which a united opposition would throw the BJP out of power.
With inputs from agencies