Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo and former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav arrived at the office of the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) here for questioning in connection with the alleged Land for Job scam on January 29.
A large number of RJD workers were present outside the office to protest the questioning of their party’s national president.
An RJD worker said that the Union Government is harassing their leader in a bid to prevent them from making strategies for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
“These people do not have any other weapon. The Government is harassing these people for the upcoming elections of 2024 so that they are not able to make strategies,” she said.
“The more Lalu Yadav is being harassed, the stronger the workers are becoming. None of us is afraid,” the RJD supporter added. Meanwhile, Misa Bharti, daughter of Lalu Yadav, came with her father, who will be now quizzed by the officials of the federal agency.
“Everything is in front of the country and the people of the country are watching everything,” Misa Bharti, surrounded by scores of RJD supporters, told reporters outside ED’s office.
Manoj Kumar Jha, RJD Rajya Sabha MP, has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of politically targeting its rivals, using Government agencies. “This is not an ED summon, but a BJP summon… This will go on till 2024, till then please do not call it ED summons… Why should we be scared?” Manoj Kumar Jha said.
The BJP, which on January 28 became part of the State Government after Nitish Kumar switched sides, claimed that corruption was deeply set in the RJD.
“…The people of the country know that these (Lalu Yadav) are corrupt people. Corruption is a jewel for them… I want to urge Tejashwi Yadav to tell the youth of Bihar the system of how to become millionaires within one and a half years,” Bihar BJP unit chief and now State Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chowdhary said.
The alleged scam occurred when Lalu Yadav was Railway Minister between 2004 and 2009. Apart from the RJD national president, the chargesheet also includes the name of the then Railway General Manager.
In lieu of getting them appointed in the Railways, Lalu Prasad Yadav allegedly got lands transferred owned by candidates and their family members in the names of his wife Rabri Devi and daughter Misa Bharti for sale consideration, which was much lesser than the prevailing circle rates as well as the prevailing market rates.
The CBI filed the chargesheet in October last year, against former Bihar Chief Ministers Lalu Prasad, Rabri Devi, their daughter Misa Bharti, and 13 others in the land-for-jobs scam.
According to the CBI, the people were first recruited as substitutes in Group D posts in the Railways and were regularised when their families made a land deal. The CBI is probing the allegations of taking land for a bribe in lieu of a job in the Railways. At the same time, ED is investigating the case of money laundering. The CBI also filed a chargesheet in this case.
(with inputs from ANI)
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