No differences with Sonia, says Lalu after meeting

September 19th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Saturday called on Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi to hold talks on possibilities for forming an alliance between the two parties for the Jharkhand Assembly elections. Yadav who was accompanied by former Union Minister Premchand Gupta had a 30 minutes long discussion with Sonia Gandhi.

September 19th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Saturday met Congress president Sonia Gandhi amid reports that Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee has recommended a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the alleged recruitment irregularities in the ministry during his tenure. Lalu Prasad, along with his close aide and former minister Premchand Gupta, held talks with Gandhi for 30 minutes.

May 19th, 2009 PATNA - While speculation mounted over whether Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Lalu Prasad would continue in the union cabinet, a section of Congress workers here Tuesday took to the streets Tuesday to insist that it shouldn't be so. Disregarding the scorching heat, Congress workers marched with posters and banners to ask party president Sonia Gandhi to keep Lalu Prasad, railways minister in the outgoing cabinet, out of the new United Progressive Alliance government.

May 18th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Outgoing Railways Minister Lalu Prasad Monday said that his party, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), would extend unconditional support to the new United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. Emerging from the last meeting of the outgoing cabinet, Lalu Prasad said his party would provide 'unconditional support' to the new government.

May 18th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Chief Lalu Prasad today said he would lend unconditional support to the UPA Government. After attending a meeting of the Union Cabinet, Lalu said he is ready to offer unconditional support to the government.

May 17th, 2009 NEW DELHI - With his Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) reduced to just four Lok Sabha seats, party chief Lalu Prasad said Sunday he would 'always' support the UPA, whether or not he is part of the new government. On his arrival in Delhi after being called by United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi to attend a meeting of the outgoing cabinet on Monday, the railways minister told reporters: 'I being a part of the government or not is another thing.

May 17th, 2009 PATNA/NEW DELHI - UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi Sunday rang up RJD chief and Railways Minister Lalu Prasad asking him to attend a meeting of the outgoing cabinet Monday and invited him to join the new government, sources close to the minister said. Bhola Yadav, personal assistant of Lalu Prasad, told IANS from Patna minutes before the minister left for Delhi that: 'Sonia-ji called up and invited him (Lalu Prasad) to attend the meeting and also join the government.' 'Lalu-ji has already regretted that the RJD did not ally with the Congress in the elections,' he added.

April 22nd, 2009 HOWRAH - Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Lalu Prasad Tuesday called up Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee and clarified that he had not left the United Progressive Alliance, Mukherjee said at an election meeting here. Lalu's telephone call to the external affairs minister came hours after the two engaged in verbal fisticuffs while addressing election meetings.

April 21st, 2009 PATNA - Retracting from his stand on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Tuesday said that United Progressive Alliance (UPA) does not necessarily belong to the Congress party and the coalition would meet after the completion of elections to decide their primeministerial candidate. The Railway Minister had maintained all along that Manmohan Singh is the UPA nominee for the post of Prime Minister.

March 23rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Railway Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Sunday said that if he were the country's home minister, Varun Gandhi would have been jailed for his speeches in Uttar Pradesh's Pilibhit constituency. 'Had I been the home minister, I would have put Varun Gandhi behind the bars,' Lalu Prasad told reporters here.

March 22nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Unmoved by the Congress declaring it would go it alone in Bihar, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Saturday asserted that he would stick to the alliance firmed up with the Lok Janshakti Party for the state. Hours after the Congress announced that it would fight 37 of the state's 40 seats, RJD chief Lalu Prasad said: 'We will give only three seats to the Congress and there will be no reconsideration on this.' Yadav told reporters: 'If the Congress wants to field its candidates they can, but (Congress chief) Sonia Gandhi will realise the importance of the RJD after the elections.' The Congress move came after the RJD and Ram Vilas Paswan of LJP earlier in the week unilaterally decided the alliance formula for Bihar, leaving just three seats for the Congress.

March 22nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Unfazed by the Congress announcing it would go it alone in Bihar, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Saturday asserted that he could not help if the Congress was unhappy with the seat sharing formula firmed up with the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) and he would stick to it. At the same time, he sought to dispel talk about any spilt in the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA), saying his party continued to be a part of the ruling coalition.

March 20th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Ram Vilas Paswan and Lalu Prasad, leaders of the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) respectively, held an emergency meeting on Thursday evening. The meeting came after Congress that it might contest over 26 seats in the Lok Sabha polls from Bihar, where the RJD and the LJP have a seat-sharing arrangement.

March 18th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Having cocked a snook at the Congress party by only agreeing to give it three seats to contest from in Bihar, Railway Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad Yadav's attempts to smoke the peace pipe with Congress president Sonia Gandhi came to naught late on Tuesday evening. Highly placed sources confirmed that Lalu sought to have a meeting with Sonia at her 10, Janpath residence, but was given short shrift, as he had not extended Sonia the courtesy of discussing his political plans in Bihar with Lok Janshakti Party chief and Steel Minister Ram Vilas Paswan.

January 26th, 2009 RAE BARELI - Railways Minister Lalu Prasad Tuesday accused the previous National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government of 'plotting' to privatise the railways. Lalu Prasad was in Uttar Pradesh's Rae Bareli town along with United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Amethi MP Rahul Gandhi to inaugurate a rail coach factory.