Rahul sidelined? Lalu backs Didi as INDIA leader

Patna: With less than a year left for assembly polls in Bihar, a rift appeared in the Congress-RJD alliance on Tuesday when Lalu Prasad threw his weight behind West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, saying she should lead the INDIA bloc. Prasad, a staunch Congress ally, caused a flutter when he replied in the affirmative to journalists' question about what he thought of the recent averment by Banerjee, the Trinamool Congress chief, who had expressed the wish to lead the opposition alliance. "Yes, she should lead," said the RJD supremo, who added, "The Congress' reservations amount to nothing. Mamata should be given the leadership role (Mamata ko do)".

Differences have cropped up on the strategy the Opposition must follow to corner the Narendra Modi government in the House. While the Congress, led by Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, demanded a discussion on the Adani indictment issue, leading to frequent adjournments, the Trinamool insisted that it wants the House to function so that it can raise key issues such as price rise, unemployment and the Manipur unrest. MPs of the Trinamool and Samajwadi Party -- the biggest opposition forces after the Congress -- were conspicuously missing from an Opposition protest over the Adani issue.