BJP's Sushil Modi likened Lalu Yadav with Robert Vadra, son-in-law of Congress president Sonia Gandhi
Lalu Yadav is Bihar's Robert Vadra, said BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi today, in a jibe aimed at both the Rashtriya Janata Dal chief and the Congress, partners in the state government of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
Mr Modi was talking about allegations against Lalu Yadav and his family of possessing
benami property worth hundreds of crores when he compared him to Robert Vadra, the son-in-law of Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Mr Vadra has been accused of corrupt land deals in Haryana when the Congress was in power in the state.
Sushil Modi, the BJP's most senior leader in Bihar, has for weeks held press conferences to furnish documents that he says prove that the Yadav family acquired
benami property worth Rs. 1,000 crore using shell companies -allegations that are being investigated by the tax department.
"For the past 90 days we have been exposing Lalu Yadav," Mr Modi said today, stating that he has written four letters to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, but has received no response. "He says that he does not read my statements, what kind of Chief Minister doesn't listen to the opposition," said the BJP leader, who was Mr Kumar's deputy for many years when their parties were allies.
Nitish Kumar's support to Ram Nath Kovind, the BJP's nominee for President, seemed to drag his alliance with Lalu Yadav and the Congress to the brink last month. While the partners have since made statements to suggest all is well, Sushil Modi has predicted an early end to Mr Kumar's partnership with Lalu Yadav.
But he added, "Nitish Kumar is a bigger politician than me. It's very difficult to predict his moves. On one hand he supports our (presidential) candidate on the other he is silent on Lalu. Only he knows what's on his mind." His conversations with the Chief Minister, Mr Modi said, are about "everything else but politics."