Laloo Prasad Yadav—A Humorous and Intelligent Politician

Laloo Prasad Yadav, our present railway minister, has humor in his speech. He is intelligent as he started new projects. These projects were not done by other railway ministers before. He started the use of khadi in rail. He first started the ATM (automated teller machines) which will be installed in all major railway stations. He started the environment friendly kulhas which are cups made from clay and stopped the use of plastic cups. His look also makes you laugh. It is quite surprising to find that even after a Rs. 1000 crore fodder scam, he was caught and he placed his wife in the chair. Ultimately his wife is a dummy, he is ruling the state behind as a chief minister. But theoretically his wife is the chief minister of Bihar now. The way he presents his political speech will make you laugh!! With his caliber I think there will be hardly any country who has a railway minister of so little education. But intelligence is something which his new project reflects. Unlike Mamata Banerjee, the previous minister of railways, he has more plans and ideas. He does not black mail the government like Mamata Banerjee.

He first started the use of khadi in railways. He decided that all seat covers will be from khadi. Our honorable Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi will bless him from heaven! He was also a supporter of khadi. This original idea will lead to the expansion of the industry quite a lot which was so far neglected. If someone thinks in this way, even one day the jute industry will also grow. West Bengal chief minister, Buddhadev Bhattacharya thinks for the development of jute.

The ATM near major railway stations is his recent idea. This is quite a great idea as the passengers can avoid now the risk of carrying large sums of money in cash. They can now use the ATMs which will be started shortly. The ATMs will also help the railways very much as passenger will be never short of cash.

Laloo Prasad banned the plastic cups stating that it causes environmental damage. He started the clay tea cups. These tea cups are much better than recycled cups of plastic. The plastic containers are harmful to health.

The appearance of Laloo Prasad Yadav reflects humor. He has big ears with hair coming out from it. This is hypertrichosis, a genetic condition in which the hairs come out from the ears. It is found in all people but in some it is more prominent like our minister Laloo Prasad Yadav.

After being charged with fodder scam of Rs. 1000 crore, anyone will be ashamed. But he is a very cool person. He placed his wife Rabri Devi as the next chief minister. From behind her, he rules Bihar. His wife who can hardly write her name is just a dummy!!

Mamata Banerjee, the previous railway minister used to blackmail the government of taking up support. But our Laloo Prasad never indulges in nuisance. He is concentrated on development of the railways.

Laloo’s innovative projects will find a lot of admirers. The daily passengers want comfort and it is new projects from time to time which will help increase the revenue of railways

Every thing about Indian Railways

History of Indian Railway
History of Indian Railway began on 22 Dec 1851 when a goods train started. First passenger train started on 16 Apr 1953 between Mumbai and Thane. Thus for more than 150 years Indian Railway is serving us nicely. Since then Indian Railway had grown slowly and steadily. In 1952 Zonal system had been introduced in Railway with total Six Zones. With the development, it has reached to total 17 zones.

Current Status

In 17 zones, Indian railway is having more than 8700 passenger trains. It is covering all states except Sikkim. Indian Railway provides many suburban railway services in major cities like Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Delhi & Hyderabad. Railway is one of the most preferred transportation medium. A normal passenger train consists of eighteen coaches where 9 coaches are sleeper class; 3-5 are air-conditioned coaches. A normal passenger sleeper coach accommodates 60 to 72 passengers. Indian Railways makes 70% of its revenues and most of its profits from the freight sector. Indian Railways operates with 7,500 + Engines; 37,800 + passenger coaches and 222000 + wagons. There are 6,850 + stations and 700 + repair shops. Indian
Railway maintains total workforce of 15,40,000 largest employer in the world.

Railway - Lalu Prasad & Their achievements

Indian railway was running in losses since years. It had been taken as granted that this PSU can never be a profit making undertaking for Indian government. But Lalu Prasad Yadav has proven this wrong. He has presented figures where Indian Railway has made profit for year 2004-05. He has also presented 2006 budget with Rs 56,000 cr income and Rs 7000 Cr profit. Look at his amazing initiatives for Indian Railway

# e-ticketing and SMS booking of tickets
# Any holder of a wait-listed ticket can be allotted accommodation in a higher class with no extra charges.
# Tatkal tickets can be booked three days in advance and higher tatkal charges.
# Commercial use of Railway land for food, entertainment and other purpose.
# Surprise checking at railway stations for staff attendance, weights of consignments and etc.
# Name and number of Vigilance officers published in News papers for any complaints.

Believe me Lalu Prasad Yadav is a smart man and having capacity of working like a CEO of a company. It is the cast politics of Bihar which forced him to behave like a villager. This fact is acknowledged by IIM - A professor and students. They have noticed the turned around happened with Indian Railway. They visited Lalu Prasad and discussed the topic. They are going to add a case study on Indian Railway in their syllabus.


Challenge in front of Railway

I like to mention this in few lines only that’s why I am giving main points only - Crime, Accidents, Ticket less Traveling, Underweight Fares of goods, Overcrowding at one place and empty railway at other place. Let’s see how Lalu prasad yadav resolves this issues.

Trivia :

With 150 + years of history and 8700 + trains Indian Railway is full of Trivia. I collects few for you :
# Mumbai’s suburban railway is the densest route in the world. It is attending 65 lakh passengers daily. The density of passengers in peak hours is 15 people per sq meter.
# The Fairy Queen is the oldest running locomotive in the world today.
# The shortest named station is Ib and the longest is Sri Venkatanarasimharajuvariapeta.
# Kharagpur railway station is the world’s longest railway platform at 1072 m.
# The Himsagar Express (between Kanyakumari and Jammu Tawi) has the longest run 3745 km.
# The Bhopal Shatabdi Express is the fastest train in India a maximum speed of 140 km/h
# The Busiest railway Stations are as following with trains per day. Delhi + New Delhi 120, Lucknow 65, Ahmedabad 60
# Would you believe there is an official website of fans of Indian Railway : http://www.irfca.org

Indian Railway on World Map :

# Indian railway has 3 World Heritage Site - The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, The Nilgiri Mountain Railway & the Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway.
# ’’The Palace on Wheels’’ is world famous tourism train of Rajasthan which is loved by people across the globe.
# The Samjhauta Express & Thar Express running from India to Pakistan is also cherished by world.
# May 1974 Indian Railway Strike (appx 15 lakh people joined the strike) for 20 days is one of the worlds biggest strike till date. (Imagine a railway strike today like SBI strike, India may get chock up.)

Lalu prasad Yadav continue to be a study subject for the B-School students. In the railway budget presented today, he put forward a stunning statistic that Indian Railways has recorded profits of Rs 25,000 crore ($6.25 billion) in 2007-08.

The cash surplus of the Railways rose from Rs 9,000 crore in 2005 to Rs 14,000 crore in 2006 to Rs 20,000 crore in 2007. In 2007-08, it is Rs 25,000 crore, and the government department has also announced a dividend of Rs 4,218 crore to the government.

How Lalu changed Railways to profit making industry

After the parliamentary election there was big fight between Lalu yadav and Paswan for the post of railway Minister but the former succeeded in getting the minsitry. Paswan was fuming and helped in defeating Lalu and his party in the next assembly election in Bihar. The people of India were very worried that Indian Railway which is the biggest public sector industry in India will be run by a corrupt leader like Lalu yadav. But somehow Lalu in just a year or so has turned the face of Indian Railways the same industry which was making loss every year is now making profit. Many experts still cannot believe and are really struggling to find out how he could do this which noone else has done in the past. His contribution has been acknowledged by institutions like IIM and have requested Lalu to give a lecture on this subject. To add to his fans now the Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy for Administration in Mussoorie has invited Lalu Yadav to give a lecture on the same subject to IAS and IPS probationers. His critics are really finding it hard to catch a flaw in his policies and in secret even admire his decisions. What is the Lalu mantra that has made spectacular financial success of the Indian Railways during last financial year which has prompted the railways to set a target Rs 20,000 crore as profit for the year 2007-08. This has also resulted in Lalu being acknowledged as the new ‘Management Guru’ with some leading management institutes requesting him to deliver lectures to their faculty and students alike. But the sad news is that while his graph as a successful railway minister was going up, his political fortunes in his home state had taken a dip. I really do not know what could be the reason is Nitish better than Lalu but if that is the case when he was the Railway minster why he could not any passenger friendly schemes like Lalu and still manage to make profit for the industry. Hats off to Lalu and his Lalu Mantra’s.
We want you to share your secret with other public sectors as well.

Indo-US deal is in India's interests

We have been regularly discussing the Indo-US nuclear deal with the Left partners. We have had enough of Inquilab Zindabad slogans and discussions related to roti, kapda and makaan, and it will continue.

But the fundamental question is from where will roti come? It will not fall from heavens. It will come from infrastructure, which includes power, railways, highways and ports.

In the era of globalization, where nations are coming close and barriers have come down due to technological advancements like IT, each nation is blindly following an aggressive trade and commerce policy. India is keen to expand its business and has reputation of being a responsible state. India is a hot investment destination and that is the reason why we should have a sound infrastructure in place.

The UPA government is committed to provide good infrastructure as far as power is concerned. There is a severe gap between demand and supply. We have stocks of Thorium, but making power out of it is a tedious and long process. Since power is necessary for any type of development, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has signed a deal with the US to get nuclear energy which is safe and pollution free. Any leader from India would have signed the deal, irrespective of the reasons behind their decisions.

We have no choice but to approach other countries for uranium, as India does not have adequate stock of the radioactive material to produce nuclear energy.

The 123 agreement has to be approved by the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), where the US is also a member. There is severe opposition from Left over India going to the IAEA. I say, let us go there and see, it is not a final decision. True, the Left partners have been opposing the US. But you should also see what communist China and others have done. They have signed deals with US and become self-sufficient as far as nuclear power is concerned.

It is not necessary that we purchase uranium from the US. We can buy it from Russia, France, Australia or any other country. Wrong information is being circulated that India is supporting US policies. We are not supporting the US or policies.

We have tried our level best to discuss with the Left and address their concerns. Nuclear power is the need of the hour. If not today, then tomorrow, we have to harness nuclear power, if we have to become a self sufficient nation.

When the Uttarakhand government wanted to start hydel power project, opponents raised the concern of pollution.

When the government starts any new project or wants to build dams for irrigation, energy or drinking water, people like Sunderlal Bahuguna and Medha Patkar oppose it, raising concerns about pollution.

Nuclear power is thus safe, pollution free and in the nation's interest. It is necessary for us to have nuclear plants capable of generating power, not only for the present generation but also for the future.

Dedicated power would enable us to operate irrigation pumps on electricity and save money on diesel. Railways, which consumes one-third of total diesel, can run on electric power if we have uninterrupted power supply.

Once we get uninterrupted power supply, it will also act as a check on the oil cartel, which is raising prices according to their whims and fancies.

Arguments, counter arguments are being aired about the deal, with every one mad at the US without knowing the facts. US has the same status as India. If the deal does not suit us, there is provision to withdraw in the 123 Agreement. We can withdraw from the agreement, if we find the deal is detrimental to India's interests.

They claim the deal will mean we are forming a pact with the US. What pact? Countries form pacts with each other. They forget that we have had pacts with Russia and other countries. Power is must as we need it for infrastructure development. Sloganeering will not help and roti (daily bread) will not tumble from heaven.

If the US helps, we should take advantage and accept the help and benefit from it. We have not pawned our independence or sovereignty. The deal doesn't mean becoming slaves of the US. If the US does not sell us, we can buy uranium from Russia, France, Germany, Australia or any other country.

I am of the firm opinion that everyone should coolly think over the nuclear deal.

Raj is fighting for his political survival

India is one nation and Indians are one, irrespective of whether they hail from north or south. Every Indian has the right to settle anywhere, travel anywhere and own property anywhere in the country.

Raj Thackeray and his uncle, Shiv Sena chief Balasaheb, follow a narrow political ideology. The recent attack on North Indians was the result of the fight between Raj and Uddhav.

Both of them want to establish supremacy and occupy the position once held by Balasaheb. Raj is fighting for his political survival, after parting ways with the Shiv Sena.

Frankly speaking North Indians are bearing the brunt of the fight between the two cousins; basically a family dispute. They are following a divisive policy to gain political mileage. Such divisive politics would result in the disintegration of the country.

Even a common man in Maharashtra does not approve of such a thing. The Constitution prohibits such type of policies and even the honorable Supreme Court has come down heavily against its followers. Such policies cannot be followed by anyone, be it Raj or me.

Anyone entering politics these days often resorts to such narrow minded and selfish tactics to show their strength and attain political goals. Such narrow minded politics is no doubt, a serious threat to the nation's unity. Such people do not realize they are causing harm to themselves than achieving any goal.

Everyone is contributing for the development of Mumbai. Political leaders no matter who, should refrain from following divisive policies.

I want to play a politician in Shahrukh's film

There are several similarities between an actor and a politician. However, a politician follows norms, culture, tradition and his behavior is in accordance with his political stature. He has to be a true leader and should possess all the leadership qualities.

Today several people from the film industry are entering politics. It is their professional demand, to dance to a song sequence, make comments and act in love scenes. But a true leader hesitates to enter the world of films since Bollywood is show business.

Amitabh Bachchan, his son and daughter-in-law, the entire family, are into acting and when a film is made it is their own way of attracting viewers by their acting style and dances.

I had told Shahrukh Khan that whenever he is producing a film and needs anyone to do the role of a politician, I am always there. I also assured him that I can do justice to the role, so that a common man is able to relate with a true politician.

Several Bollywood flicks have actors playing the role of a politician. They wear caps like politicians and attempt the role. People know he is not a true politician and do not appreciate such type of actors, who portray politicians in a bad light.

I will not be acting in films which are only about clinging and hugging each other. I have seen old actors like Hema Malini, whose stature as an actress is very high. I had even told her that I would like to act in the films she produces. However, I should be given an appropriate role.

Lalu on Rising Inflation in the Country

Price rise is not just restricted to India, it has acquired international proportions. Several countries are facing a shortage of foodgrains. Recently I visited Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, where there is severe food shortage.

Countries like Bangladesh, India's other neighbors and even some of European countries are reeling under food and fuel crisis. Their condition is worse. The Indian government has made provisions to ensure basic food is available to the poor and no one sleeps hungry.

Exports have been stopped, concessions have been announced and customs and excise duties on essential commodities slashed. All over the world the prices of steel, cement and fuel are witnessing an upward trend.

Indian Railways after 60 years of independence has created a huge buffer stock of foodgrains. Now we do not have to import foodgrains. There is no necessity to maintain such a huge buffer stock and the problem now is how to dispose it off.

Forward trading of certain essential commodities that was operated from Mumbai, has been stopped after we realized it was fueling price rise. Private players, involved in forward trading, used to purchase grains directly from farmers at prices higher than FCI (Food Corporation of India). I have contributed in a large way to Sharad Pawarji's efforts to arrest the galloping prices. I have directed that Indian Railways will upload grains purchased by FCI first. The foodgrain stock of private players will be uploaded only after that.

We have announced minimum support price for wheat and rice. While it benefited, it has also created problems. Coordination should have been more but it takes time. Today we are a buffer state. Consumption of fuel in India has increased drastically. The 'haves' have minimum five cars leading to increased consumption of fuel. Wood was earlier used as fuel, now every household uses domestic gas. One-third of the diesel imported by the country is used by Indian Railways.

Though the operating cost of the Indian Railways has gone up, we have not raised rail fares, on the contrary, we slashed the rates. Increasing prices of fuel was unfortunate, we had no option. We have to face realities as we do not have any other options. The oil cartel is bent on increasing prices of fuel. Even the European countries had witnessed opposition to the fuel price rise. We brought into effect only the minimum possible raise in the prices of petro products.

It is very unfortunate that the government had to increase the rates of domestic LPG too. The Prime Minister has appealed to state governments to slash sales tax and VAT, to reduce the burden on consumers. Everybody has to realize and share the burden. This is a temporary phase and the conditions will certainly change for the better in the near future. Middlemen hoping for a kill raised the prices of commodities, to cash in on the expected increase in salaries of government personnel announced by the Sixth Pay Commission. Everyone from retailer to wholesale dealers, are taking their pound of flesh, but the farmer continues to reel under poverty.

It is true that common man is suffering due to inflation as India is a developing country. The government has made provisions for providing free ration of 35 kg to those below poverty line so that the common man is not affected by the price rise. But the government schemes have to be implemented properly.

People have also been provided jobs under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (NREGP), so that it helps common man earn two square meals. The state governments should implement the NREGP in its true spirit. Earlier too, nutrition- rich foods like eggs and fruits were beyond the purview of common man due to the high costs. It is only a miniscule few who are able to afford the items. The poor survive on potato curry in case of inability to afford dal-chawal. Poor man knows how to sustain himself in the backdrop of price rise.

The government has devised schemes, like PDS (Public Distribution Scheme), to mitigate the problems of common man. However the welfare measures should be implemented strictly so that the common man stands to benefit from the schemes.

Lalu Prasad Yadav on Rajasthan's Gujjar Agitation

The Gujjar agitation was a consequence of the bungling by Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje. However, accepting the demands of the community for a scheduled tribe status would trigger similar demands from others.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje was the root cause behind the spread of agitation by Gujjars, which has lost its direction. Acquiescing to the demands of Gujjars for scheduled tribe status would fuel similar demands by others which would lead to a constitutional crisis.

Even the Gujjars know their demands would never be met. The process for inclusion of communities into the scheduled list is mentioned in our Constitution and is a very lengthy one.

When you try to change the Constitution, it would trigger a wave of resentment among others. Those already in the list would feel reservation is being extended to others at their cost and they are being deprived of it forcefully.

The Gujjar agitation would lead to threats from other organizations to press their demands or by people driven by ambitions of becoming leaders or even to highlight obscure causes. This is not in the best interest of the country.

The loss caused to the Indian Railways is yet to be estimated but the damage has been severe. Several trains, both passenger and goods, have been cancelled.
It is unfortunate that the Gujjars have vented their anger by disrupting the rail lines, but they do not realize they have dismantled lifelines of the country. Opening fire on the agitators is not right as the matter should have been sorted out amicably through dialogue. The Gujjars too should avoid the path of violence. Vasundhara first promised reservation in the election manifesto and now she is not keeping her word, which has fuelled the agitation further.

Details of Shri Lalu Prasad

Name		Shri Lalu Prasad
Constituency from which I am elected		Chapra
Father's Name		Late Shri Kundan Rai
Mother's Name
Date of Birth		1948-06-11
Birth Place		Phulwaria, Distt. Gopalganj (Bihar)
Maritial Status		Married
Spouse Name		Smt. Rabri Devi
No. of Children		9
State Name		Bihar
Party Name		Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)
Permanent Address		(i) Vill. Samanpura, Bihar Veterinary College Patna - 800 014 (Bihar), (ii) 5, Deshratna Marg, Patna (Bihar) Tel.(0612) 2203067
Present Address		25, Tughlak Road, New Delhi-110 011, Tels.(011) 23012777, 23013909 (R), 23381213, 23386645 (O) Fax (011) 23017986 (R), 23382637 (O)
Email id
Educational Qualifications		B.A., LL.B. Educated at Patna University, Patna (Bihar)
Profession
Positions Held :		Elected to 6th Lok Sabha( 1977) , Member, Bihar Legislative Assembly (two terms)( 1980-89) , Leader of Opposition, Bihar Legislative Assembly( Jan.-Nov. 1989) , Chairman, Library Committee, Bihar Legislative Assembly( ) , Convenor, Committee on Public Undertakings, Bihar Legislative Assembly( ) , Re-elected to 9th Lok Sabha (2nd term) (upto April 1990)( 1989) , Member, Bihar Legislative Council( 1990-95) , Chief Minister, Bihar( March 1990 - July 1997) , Member, Bihar Legislative Assembly( 1995-98) , National President, Janata Dal( Jan. 1996- July 1997) , National President, Rashtriya Janata Dal( July 1997 onwards) , Re-elected to 12th Lok Sabha (3rd term)( 1998) , Member, General Purposes Committee, Lok Sabha( 1998-99) , Member, Committee on Home Affairs and its Sub-Committee on Swatantrata Sainik Samman Pension Scheme( ) , Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Information and Boradcasting( ) , Member, Bihar Legislative Assembly( March 2000-March 2002) , Elected to Rajya Sabha( April 2002) , Member, General Purpose Committee, Rajya Sabha ( ) , Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Rural Development( ) , Leader, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Rajya Sabha( ) , Member, Business Advisory Committee, Rajya Sabha( ) , Re-elected to 14th Lok Sabha (4th term)( 2004) , Leader, Rashtriya Janata Dal Parliamentary Party, Lok Sabha( ) , Member, General Purposes Committee( ) , Union Cabinet Minister, Railways( 23 May 2004 onwards) ,
Social and Cultural Activities, Literary, Artistic and Scientific Accomplishments and other Special Interests		Active participant in social, cultural, literary and artistic activities of schools, colleges, universities and other instituions
Sports, Clubs, Favourite Pastimes and Recreation		Football, wrestling, cricket, kabaddi, badminton and other indoor games; President, Bihar Cricket Association, 2001; associated with sports clubs in Chapra, Patna and other cities in Bihar
Hobbies
Countries Visited		Moscow (Russia), Pakistan, Singapore, Thailand, U.K. and U.S.A.
Other Information		General Secretary, Patna University Students Union, 1970-71; President, Patna University Students Union, 1973-74; previously associated with the Janata Party, Lok Dal and Janata Dal

Lalu Yadav Nuclear Deal Lok Sabha 1

Lalu Yadav Lok Sabha Nuclear Deal 2

Lalu Yadav Lok Sabha Nuclear Deal 3