RJD Chief Lalu Yadav ‘Pulled and Hugged Me,’ Says Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal

#NewDelhi:  #CM  #ArvindKejriwal has sought to clear the air on the RJD Chief  Lalu Prasad Yadav  hug that launched a thousand hashtags or so.

Bihar politician and Former CM  Lalu Prasad Yadav, Mr Arvind  Kejriwal claimed today, was the sole author of the warm embrace the two leaders shared on stage on the sidelines of Bihar  Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s oath ceremony in Patna on Friday.

“He shook my hand and pulled me into a hug and then he held my hand and raise it,” said the Delhi chief minister ArvindKejriwal  adding, “It was projected and questions were asked.”

Photographs of the two leaders went viral on Friday and an Arvind Kejriwal tweet from two years ago was dug up to remind the former anti-corruption activist of his stand on Lalu Yadav when the latter was convicted in a corruption case.
Today Delhi CM Mr #ArvindKejriwal said, “We are against his record of corruption and we’ll always oppose it.” He pointed out that he was not in a political alliance with Mr Lalu  Yadav, who is a partner in the ruling coalition that swept Bihar in the assembly elections this month.

He was in Patna, Mr Arvind  Kejriwal emphasised, to cheer Chief Minister bihar Nitish Kumar who led the anti-BJP Grand Alliance to victory. “Nitish Kumar  is good person. People have told us that Nitish Kumar  has done good work. We worked against the BJP there and supported him,” Mr #ArvindKejriwal explained.

The two chief ministers have publicly bonded for several months now, meeting many times and praising the other, drawn together by a shared rivalry with the BJP.

Delhi CM Mr  Arvind Kejriwal made several vote appeals for Nitish Kumar, but did not accept Mr Nitish  Kumar’s invitation to campaign for him in the state. That was widely attributed to his unwillingness to be seen in the same political space as Lalu Yadav.

Friday’s hug earned him criticism not only on social media but also from political rivals, including former AAP colleague Yogendra Yadav who said, “Political capital of the movement sold to symbols of political corruption. Ashamed!”