Lalu Yadav Inaugurates CBSE Regional Office

Patna: July 9, 2008

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president and Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav in Patna on Wednesday inaugurated the sixth regional office of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) at a function organized at the Sri Krishna Memorial Hall.

"With its office in Patna, the CBSE will be able to keep a close eye on the schools in Bihar and Jharkhand and thus improving the standard of education in both states," Yadav said adding the teachers honored by the Board in Bihar would now be able to avail 50% discount in railway tickets.

The Railway Minister, however, soon turned the topic from education to partisan politics accusing Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of flip-flopping on nuclear development.

"It was Nitish Kumar who originally presented a proposal before the Prime Minister to have a nuclear power plant in Nalanda district. Now he has made an U-turn on the issue because of political expediency," Yadav said.

The RJD leader also reaffirmed his faith in the Congress-led UPA government saying despite talks of political upheaval within the coalition setup in the aftermath of the withdrawal of support by the left parties.

"There is no threat to the UPA government and though today the left parties have withdrawn their support to us, I am certain they would come back to the UPA fold before the next Lok Sabha elections," he said.