RJD chief and former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad on Monday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of deceiving people ahead of the elections and asserted that his exit was certain.

He also said the G20 summit was a waste of public money and questioned the benefit that the common people would derive from it.

After paying obeisance at the Baba Baidyanath Dham temple in Jharkhand’s Deoghar and Basukinath Temple in Dumka with his wife and former chief minister Rabri Devi, the veteran politician interacted with the media and expressed concern over the current situation in the country.

“People are facing problems like inflation, unemployment and even starvation like never before. Prime Minister Narendra Modi only takes the decision to reduce the price of LPG cylinders ahead of the elections. The government is not bothered about the problem of price rise. The Prime Minister is cheating people. The BJP’s departure is now certain. The recent bypoll results were just a trailer,” Lalu said.

Last month, the Centre had announced a Rs 200 per cylinder cut in prices of domestic cooking gas.

Lalu exuded confidence in the newly formed INDIA alliance coming to power in 2024.

“The work on seat sharing and selection of candidates will begin soon and a meeting of INDIA alliance partners will be held in Delhi on September 12-13. Tejashwi Yadav (Bihar deputy chief minister) will represent the RJD in this meeting. I will be touring rural areas of Bihar informing people about the wrong policies of the BJP-led central government. INDIA will come to power in the 2024 elections,” Lalu said.

Terming the recently concluded G20 summit a sham, Lalu said: “What benefit did the common masses get by inviting high-profile people and hosting the G20 summit? It is a waste of public money.”

According to the budget for 2023-24, the Union government had allocated Rs 990 crore for G20 presidency. Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had, during the presentation of the budget, said the G20 presidency gave India a unique opportunity to strengthen its role in the world economic order. Over Rs 4,100 crore was spent on sprucing up Delhi and preparing for the summit, according to a document posted by Union minister Meenakshi Lekhi on X (formerly Twitter).

Asked about the Sanatana Dharma row, Lalu said the BJP was a party of hypocrites. “For the RJD, all God is one and we respect every religion,” he added.

Lalu met Jharkhand leaders and party workers on Sunday. “He directed us to strengthen the party in the state keeping in mind the upcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly polls. He gave us the mantra ‘BJP bhagao, desh bachao’,” the RJD’s Jharkhand spokesperson Manoj Kumar said.

“Our party chief said the BJP is a party for the capitalists. It is dividing the country and creating differences among people. It is high time to uproot the BJP-led central government from power,” Kumar added.