G. R. Patil College Bachelor of Mass Media [T.Y.B.M.

M-Semester-V-2011-12]

Project Report on Featura & opnion

Submitted By Mr. / Miss Kaiser N.Khan

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University of Mumbai

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Declaration by Student

I have declared that in this project I have given all accurate and factual information. I have referred to many websites to pursue information related to my topic while working on this project. I took the guidelines from our respected teacher to make a proper and complete project.

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Acknowledgement I would like to give my immense gratitude to Professor Hasan mulani Sir and would like to thank him for giving his valuable guidance to complete this project successfully. By giving this project he also creates the interest about this topic amongst us and his in- depth knowledge about the subject makes easier for us to understand difficult concepts in the subjects. And I would also thank my Parents for supporting me.

ABSTRACT
Lalu Prasad Yadav is an Indian politician from Bihar. He was born in a poor farmer family in Phulwaria, Gopalganj district of Bihar to Kundan Rai and Marachhiya Devi on 11th June 1947. Lalu Prasad Yadav is famous for his charismatic leadership and mass appeal, and has been criticized for caste-based politics and the corruption cases against him. According to him, his large family is a protest against the forced sterilization during the Indian Emergency (1975 77) declared by Indira Gandhi. He was the former Chief Minister of Bihar and as the Railway Minister he turned the Indian Railway system to an angle where IR began to make profits. Many books have been written in praise of Lalu by local writers. Entertainers, in television and film industry, mimic Yadav for their profession. What you will see in this thesis is a gist of his personal and political life; and the criticism and controversies he has faced.

Table of Contents
TOPIC
1. Education 2. Personal Life 3. Political Life a) Rashtriya Janata Dal b) Tenure as a Union Minister 5-6 4. What did Lalu Prasad Yadav do to turnaround Indian railways? a) What did the minister do to turnaround Indian railways? b) Lalus Success Secrets 5. Criticisms and controversies a) b) c) d) Corruption allegations Schemes during his tenure Accusations against the BJP Perceived institutional bias against Lalu 12-13 7-11

PAGE NO.
3 3 3-4

6. Lalu in popular culture

7. Lalus Blog 8. Conclusion

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Education
Most youngsters today think that Lalu Prasad Yadav is not a very welleducated man. Shockingly he is an extremely well-educated man and well versed with politics. He has not only finished his schooling but also gone ahead and done law. He not only holds a degree in LLB but also a Master in Political science
from B. N. College, Patna University. In the recent years Yadav has been putting in

tremendous effort in talking in English and I must say he does pretty well. His effort is appreciated by the members of parliament and the common man.

Personal Life
On June 1, 1973 Lalu Prasad Yadav married Rabri Devi. The two have two sons and seven daughters. According to him, his large family is a protest against the forced sterilization during the Indian Emergency (1975 77) declared by Indira Gandhi. His eldest daughter is Misa Bharati, named for the infamous Maintenance of Internal Security Act under which freedom of the press was curtailed and countless Indians jailed as political prisoners, including her father who was in prison at the time of her birth.

Political Life
Lalu's first political step was his active involvement in the elections of the Patna University Students' union. He led the student movement inspired by Jai Prakash Narayan in the 1970s. The former Chief Minister of Bihar and the then President of Bihar State Janata Party,senior leader Satyendra Narayan Sinha(affectionately called "Chhote Saheb") placed him as a candidate for the Lok Sabha and campaigned for him. He was subsequently elected as a member of

6th Lok Sabha on a Janata Party ticket at only 29 years of age, becoming one of the youngest members of the Indian Parliament then. In a span of 10 years, Lalu became a formidable force in Bihar State Politics. During the Indian general elections in 1989 and state assembly elections, he successfully led the National Front coalition in Bihar. It was, therefore, no surprise that he was elected the Chief Minister of Bihar in 1990, leaving behind Ram Sundar Das, a former chief minister from the same party. According to the BBC, the police unearthed a Fodder Scam in 1996 worth Rs 950 crore (US$ 267 Million) in Bihar (dating back to the previous Congress Government) which allegedly involved Yadav and the State's leading bureaucrats and politicians, albeit the probe itself was ordered by him. Some people claim it to be an opposition's conspiracy to stop his unprecedented political growth. The fodder scam forced Yadav to resign from the office of Chief Minister and he brought his wife, Rabri Devi, as his successor.

Rashtriya Janata Dal

Lalu formed the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in 1997, after breaking away from the Janata Dal. According to Limca Book of Records, he is the longest serving president of an Indian Political Party. He remained in power in Bihar for more than one and a half decades. In November 2005 elections, his party, the RJD could win just 54 seats, which put his party in third place, after the Janata Dal United(JDU) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Tenure as a Union Minister

Lalu was elected to the 14th Lok Sabha from Chhapra (Chhapra is a city and
headquarters of Saran district in the state of Bihar) and Madhepura (Madhepura is a city and a municipality in Madhepura district in the state of Bihar) seats of Bihar. He

was able to defeat the high profile BJP leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy from Chhapra and the JD(U) president Sharad Yadav from Madhepura. He became the railway minister in the UPA Government. Later, he gave up the Madhepura seat.

What did Lalu Prasad Yadav do to turnaround Indian railways?

Indian Railway(IR) is the world's largest employer, providing 1.6 million jobs, one of the largest and busiest rail networks in the world, carrying 18 million passengers daily. Yet it has, so far, stayed ahead of global recession. Thanks to Mr. Lalu for a job well done. He has surprised many by emerging as one of the top performing ministers in Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs cabinet. He is being credited for the impossiblethe turnaround of the monolithic Indian railways. Lalu banned plastic cups to serve tea at railway stations and ordered that they be replaced by kulhars (earthen cups), to generate more employment in rural areas. Later, he also said that he had plans to introduce buttermilk and kh d . In June 2004, he announced that he would get on the railway himself to inspect its problems and went on to board the Patna railway station at midnight. When he took over as Railway Minister in 2004, the 156-year old Indian Railways was dismissed as a hopeless, loss-making organization, with too little revenue, too many problems and too many employees. IR was spending 91% of its income just on salaries and maintaining an aging organization. In 2001 the Rakesh Mohan Committee headed by former Reserve Bank of India deputy governor Rakesh Mohan, termed India Railways a "white elephant', with a debt of Rs 61,000 crore and even predicted fatal bankruptcy by 2015. Now many are surprised by the successive landmarks set by the Indian Railways. In the four years under Lalus ledership, IR has turned in a cumulative cash surplus before dividend of Rs 68,778 crore. Out of this Rs 15,898

crore has been paid as dividend, Rs 39,215 crore has been invested in rail infrastructure and Rs 13,665 crore has been added to fund balances to reach Rs 20,483 cr. One of Rakesh Mohan Committee members, IIMs Professor G. Raghuram, now has all praises for Lalu. IIM Ahmadabad, recognized Lalus turnaround of Indian railways, and made it a case study for its students.

What did the minister do to turnaround Indian railways?

In a nutshell,
y

Refused to hike fares. Shored up earnings by carrying more passengers and freight.

Increased the load carried by a goods wagon from 81 tonnes to 90 tonnes. This gave an additional earning of Rs 7,200 crore.

Upgraded tickets if seats were going vacant in the upper class. So, waitlisted passengers could be allotted seats.

Maintained passenger profile so that bogies could be taken off or added to trains according to seasonal demand.

Lalus Success Secrets

The explanation for his success lies in his down-to-earth attitude and rustic wisdom. Lalu puts it in his inimitable style: "My mother always told me not to handle a buffalo by its tail, but always take it by its horns. And I have used that lesson in everything in my life, including the railway ministry. Lalu says I approached the ministry like a common man with no technical expertise. I was clear about one thingI would not increase passenger or freight fares. It did not require rocket science to understand that the railways could increase its earnings by carrying more passengers and freight. The solution lay in increasing volumes and not the cost," he says.

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Criticisms and controversies

Lalu's party is alleged to have continued in power for several years on the strength of the Muslim-Yadav combination vote bank and is considered extremely popular among members of both communities. His brand of politics has caused a great deal of resentment among some caste groups like Bhumihars, because Lalu Yadav centered his government to raise the extremely pitiable life style of lots of poor people. So some people of the higher caste dislike him because those poor people are announced as untouchable according to Brahmanism system in India. So Yadav got accused by Bhumihars and criticised for aggravating caste divisions through his policies, and also appreciated the fact that he helps disadvantaged groups out of a belief in secularism and social justice. The most notorious, of these, is the Siwan MP Mohammad Shahabuddin. Many of Lalu's own party members, including Gopalganj MP Sadhu Yadav (brother of Lalu's brother-in-law Subhash Yadav), had asked him to sever ties with Shahbuddin.
I've not given them (the poor people of Bihar) heaven, but I've given them a voice.

Corruption allegations
Lalu Yadav has been charged with corruption cases, the most infamous being the "Fodder Scam".
Fodder Scam: - The Fodder Scam was a corruption scandal that involved the alleged embezzlement of about 950 crore from the government treasury of the eastern Indian

state of Bihar. The alleged theft spanned many years, was engaged in by many Bihar state government administrative and elected officials across multiple administrations (run by opposing political parties), and involved the fabrication of "vast herds of fictitious livestock" for which fodder, medicines and animal husbandry equipment was supposedly procured. Although the scandal broke in 1996, the theft had been in

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progress, and increasing in size, for over two decades. Besides its magnitude and the duration for which it was said to have existed, the scam was and continues to be covered in Indian media due to the extensive nexus between tenured bureaucrats, elected politicians and businesspeople that it revealed, and as an example of the mafia raj that has penetrated several state-run economic sectors in the country.

In the Fodder Scam, about Rs. 950 crore siphoned off from the animal husbandry department. Lalu has been an accused in many of the 63 odd cases filed. He has been remained to custody on multiple occasions because of the number of cases. Over 64 people have been convicted in the case.. "Lalu accused in six fodder scam cases". Frontline. December 2001. "The ride to Ranchi". Lalu was first sent to "Judicial remand" (Bihar Military Police guest house, Patna) on July 30, 1997 for 134 days. On October 28, 1998, he was sent again to the same guest house for 73 days. When the Supreme Court of India took exception to his guest house stay, he had also shifted to the Beur jail in Patna. He was later remanded for 11 days on April 5, 2000, in a disproportionate assets case. He surrendered along with his wife, Rabri Devi, and was sent to the Beur Jail. Due to proceedings in the fodder scam, Yadav was remanded for a day in Beur jail on November 28, 2000. On November 26, 2001, Yadav was again remanded, in a case related to the Fodder scam. He accused NDA of creating a conspiracy against him. On October 1, 2004 the Supreme Court of India served a notice to Yadav and his wife, Rabri Devi, on fodder scam. This was in response to a petition, which alleged that they have been interfering with Late in the investigation. Since Laloo Yadav is currently a member of the Union Government at Delhi, the CBI has been accused of dragging its feet on the issue.

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Schemes during his tenure

The charwaha vidyalaya scheme was launched by Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav in December, 1991, with much fanfare. The project was even appreciated by UNICEF and was quickly adopted by Central schemes like TRYSEM, Indira Awas Yojana, IRDP-RLGEP and ICDS. It aimed to impart basic education to children of poor peasants who supplemented their parents' meagre income by cattle-herding, "Earn while you learn" was the attraction. The concept envisaged that children bring their herd and learn while the animals grazed in the fields attached to the schools. The mid-day meal scheme has succeeded in bringing poor children to school. But the scheme has become an end in itself and there are no signs of these children learning anything in the classroom.

Lalus Accusations against the BJP

On August 5, 2004, Yadav claimed that L.K.Advani, senior BJP leader and Leader of the Opposition was an accused in a conspiracy to kill Muhammad Ali Jinnah and described him as an 'international absconder'. On September 14, 2004 Lalu asked L.K.Advani to come clean on his involvement' in the alleged conspiracy to assassinate the founder of Pakistan, Mohammed Ali Jinnah. On September 28, 2004, Lalu alleged Mr. Venkaiah Naidu, the then Union Rural Minister, of having sold 55,000 tonnes of wheat in the name of drought relief distribution in AP. "A CBI probe will be initiated to find the truth" he said. Government's move to go in for Women's Reservation Bill in March 2010

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had its first fallout with the SP (Samajwadi Party) and the RJD announcing withdrawal of support to the coalition led by Congress. The decision by SP, with 21 members in Lok Sabha, and RJD with four will, however, had no impact on the stability of the UPA government. Angry SP President Mulayam Singh Yadav and RJD chief Lalu Prasad slammed the Congress for its move to "unilaterally" go ahead with the Bill which seeks 33 per cent reservation for women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies. "This is a political dacoity. We will not tolerate it. We are withdrawing support to the government," said Lalu Prasad with Mulayam Singh Yadav standing by his side and supporting him. He later said, "We have withdrawn support on this issue". In August 2010, RJD had accused Congress of striking a deal with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the issues of price rise and nuclear liability bill in exchange of a clean chit given to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in Sohrabuddin fake encounter case. Congress and BJP are together on several issues...Todays media reports indicate that Modi has been given a clean chit by CBI in the Sohrabuddin case, Lalu told media persons outside Parliament House on Wednesday, Aug 18. Referring to Modi as a "shark", the former railway minister said, CBI is interrogating Shah who is only a small fish but the sharks are still out in the open." He argued that there was no way that the then Home Minister, Amit Shah, could have taken a decision without a nod from the Chief Minister, Modi. He then accused the BJP of selling out to Congress on the issues of price rise and the nuclear deal for a clean chit to Modi. Lalu added that the clean chit was not possible without the knowledge of the Centre and reiterated an old aspersion thrown against Congress that the party was using CBI as a tool. In September 2010 RJD leader Lalu Prasad today charged BJP with having a secret understanding with Congress to "swallow" regional and smaller parties in the upcoming Bihar Assembly polls. Prasad's attack came a day after BJP alleged that RJD and Congress have arrived at a secret alliance for the polls."Congress and BJP have a secret understanding and they want to have a

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bipolar political system in India," Prasad told reporters. Lalu Prasad claimed that Congress had ensured "clean chit" from CBI to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in the Shoharabuddin encounter case. "The two arrived at a secret deal and CBI netted a small chicken (a minister in Modi-led government), while it cleared Modi of all charges. It says beyond doubt that the two big parties have a pact," he said. He slammed BJP General Secretary Ananth Kumar for his reported claim that Lalu Prasad was not going to return to power in Bihar. "BJP does not have culture and it is a party of propaganda," he said, referring to Kumar's comments that the RJD may have publicly allied with Ram Vilas Paswan's LJP, but it has a "secret alliance" with Congress for the Assembly polls. Prasad said the ruling BJP-JD(U) alliance in Bihar has "now gone into coma" as it was facing an imminent defeat and added that all sections of the people have decided to vote for the RJD-LJP to power. "Voting for Congress will mean helping BJP," he cautioned the people.

Perceived institutional bias against Lalu

Supporters of Lalu Yadav have claimed of Lalu being subject to institutional bias against him, which can be divided into: Media bias and other institutional biases. Although he has maintained a good relationship with the media, at times he has accused the media of being unfair, and has even gone so far as to threaten to sue certain media outlets for defamation. Although the Media bias against him has been recognised by certain sections of press, the media counters this claim that it has simply been highlighting corruption cases against Lalu as a part of its function as a free press. Lalu and his supporters have also claimed that some other institutions like the Election Commission of India have shown a bias against him on many occasions, the most recent being the last Bihar State Assembly Election, whereas the Election Commission claims that it always has simply been doing its duty to prevent frauds and unethical behavior committed by Lalu and his supporters during Bihar state/general elections.

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Lalu in popular culture

Many books have been written in praise of Lalu by local writers including Lalu Chalisa and Lalu Hala (especially by fellow Yadavs). Entertainers, in television and film industry, mimic Yadav for their profession. According to a media report, many local barbers and saloons are earning money by offering what they call the Lalu style hair cut. A barber of Hajipur was quoted saying, "The style is a craze among the youths and even policemen". Lalu has been recognised as a brand on his own amongst a few industries in rural Bihar. A Patna-based company had launched "Lalu Khaini" (tobacco) in 2004, which was a hit. In 2005, Speedage Corp. introduced "Laluji" dolls that became popular with kids. In 2006, Lalu ka Khzana, a chocolate produced by New Delhi-based Chetak company, became very popular with kids in rural areas of north Bihar districts like Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi and Madhubani. The wrapper of the chocolate packet depicted two different caricatures of Lalu one as a politician and the other as a magician. More than 100,000 packets were reportedly sold. A cheap cosmetic pack branded as Lalu Chale Sasural ("Lalu goes to in-laws house") had become extremely popular among rural Bihari girls, especially in the areas such as Vaishali, Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga and Samastipur. Each packet, priced at Rs. 23, contains items of daily use like face powder, cream, earrings, sticker, and a necklace. In June 2006, Prakash Agro Industries in Bihar started selling cattle fodder under the brand name Lalu Pashu Aahar. It was reported that the outcome of this branding strategy had surpassed the company's expectations and they were facing problems in meeting the huge demand for their fodder.

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Lalu has a sizable fan following in Bollywood, which includes actors Sunil Shetty and Raza Murad and directors Mahesh Manjrekar and Mahesh Bhatt to name a few. Indian actor turned politician Shatrughan Sinha, who is a political opponent of Lalu, once said, "Had Lalu Yadav not been a politician he could have been an actor". Mahesh Bhatt has gone to the extent of saying that Lalu deserves to become Prime Minister of India. A Bollywood movie titled Padamshree Lalu Prasad Yadav was released in 2004. Though his name appeared in the title, the movie was not about him, but had characters named Padmashreee, Lalu, Prasad and Yadav. These incidences as viewed by some people as an attempt by the mainstream media to make deliberate fun of Lalu's accent. Though the movie was not a hit, it was made n good comedy of some of the legacy.

Lalus Blog
In his Blog on MyPopKorn.com Lalu address the people. 25th July 2010 I would like to thank all those who have posted their comments on my blog. I thank all of you for the response. It has come to my notice that most of the comments are related to the functioning of Railways, where people have pointed out various deficiencies in the services. We are studying all the suggestions and will try to implement them. In my blog post on playing politician in Shahrukh's film, many people have misunderstood me and believe I will be singing and dancing in the movie. Actually it is not so, I want to tell people again that politicians are shown in bad light. I think politicians are discredited in movies. Frankly speaking, the stature of politicians in society is very high. But in films, they are shown doing frivolous things and people relate politicians to the actors who play the role. This is wrong and that is why I told Shahrukh Khan, while shooting for Star Plus show Kya Aap Panchvi Pass Se Tez Hai that whenever he

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plans to produce a movie and has the role of a politician, I will do it. I assured him, I can do justice to the role. I want people to know what a politician is in actual life and not as shown in movies. To all those who want to know about my personal life, I would like to tell them that it is like an open book. Through my blog posts I will be telling all of you about it, my family background, about my old attire and my present attire. I will also be talking about the turnaround of Indian Railways that was incurring losses during the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) rule. I was invited to give lectures at various management institutes in India and abroad, to speak on how I changed the Railways. I have spoken about it in print, electronic and other media. For all those who have missed, I will be speaking again through my blog post. I would again like to thank all those who have posted their comments on my blog. I request everyone to continue sending feedback. I will not feel bad on the contrary I will feel happy. For all those who have not seen but only heard about Lalu Yadav and formed certain opinion. It is like those people who have only heard about the Taj Mahal, the moment they see the magnificient structure their pre-conceived notions vanish. My political opponents have tried to tarnish my image. It is like an artist who moves about with a make-up. But when the same artist is moving without any make-up, he appears to be different.

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Conclusion
Weve seen for years now, when Lalu speaks he does move some eye-balls. And though he is not very good at his English, his language to communicate to common masses has gained him his popularity. Although hes been part of scams; accused other parties and party members he still remains one of the favourites for Aam Admi, especially in Bihar. He not only had a thought of helping the poor but he applied this thought and was a walking stick for many; a great example being the turning around of the Indian railways. Lalu Prasad Yadav is a character; the one which entertains and guides people. Mr. Lalu Prasad Yadav many times expressed a strong ambition to become the country's Prime Minister. In his recent interview to NDTV, when asked by newsmen whether he will again become the Railway Minister after the forthcoming elections, Yadav said, "what will happen, where will I go, what God has destined and what is written on the forehead, anything can happen. "But, one day I will become the Prime Minister of the country. I have no 'maaramaari' present or future." Let us hope Lalu Jee will become Prime Minister of India in the near future and turns around every sector to make India a super power.

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