A day after Bihar's big power shift, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) patriarch Lalu Prasad Yadav arrived at the Enforcement Directorate office in Patna this morning for questioning in the land-for-jobs case. His daughter Misha Bharti, also an accused in the corruption case, accompanied the 75-year-old leader.
The case relates to alleged irregularities during Mr Yadav's tenure as Railway Minister between 2004 and 2009. It is alleged that the veteran politician and the other accused got jobseekers to transfer lands in the names of Yadav family members at throwaway rates.
Mr Yadav, his wife and former Chief Minister Rabri Devi and daughter Misa are among the accused in the case. The CBI is investigating the allegations of bribery in the case, and ED is probing the money laundering trail.
The RJD has accused the BJP of using government agencies to target political rivals. "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?" RJD MP Manoj Jha said.
At the ED office this morning, Ms Bharti said, "Whoever is not with the BJP and is not ready to switch to their side gets this greeting card." She said her family members have always answered every query of probe agencies.
The RJD veteran's questioning takes place a day after his old comrade Nitish Kumar's volte-face. The nine-time Chief Minister parted ways with RJD and Congress and returned to the NDA fold yesterday. This was his fifth flip-flop in a decade. In 2022, he had exited the NDA and tied up with RJD and Congress to form a new government.
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