Rabri Devi's Brother Claims Lalu Prasad Yadav Had Links With Kidnappers

Former Rajya Sabha MP Subhash Yadav, an estranged brother-in-law of Lalu Prasad, alleged on Thursday that the RJD president had links with gangs involved in kidnappings for ransom while the party ruled Bihar.

Yadav, a younger brother of Rabri Devi, the wife of Prasad who succeeded the RJD supremo as the Bihar CM, made the allegation in conversation with a number of media outlets here.

"They accuse me of being behind the kidnappings. It is they who used to get people abducted and order their release," said Yadav, who has since burnt bridges with his sister and brother-in-law.

"Had there been any evidence against me, I would have been in jail, just like Lalu ji, against whom there was proof of involvement in fodder scam," he said.

However, Sadhu Yadav, another estranged brother of Rabri Devi, rubbished the allegation and said, "Subhash is speaking nonsense. He seems to have received crumbs from some political party to say such things." "It is Subhash, who used to be involved in all types of dubious activities. I suspect he must be having links with kidnappers himself. People often used to mix us up. Sadhu-Subhash became a hyphenated expression. He indulged in all mischief and I ended up sharing the blame for no reason," alleged Sadhu Yadav.

Incidentally, one of the things the brother duo has often been accused of by the BJP-led NDA is loot of vehicles from a car showroom in Patna, which were "returned" after the marriage ceremony of Misa Bharti, the eldest daughter of Prasad who is also the sitting MP from the Pataliputra Lok Sabha seat.

Subhash Yadav admitted that the vehicles were looted in 1999, but claimed involvement of two other RJD leaders, whom he accused of having acted at the instance of Prasad.

"In fact, I was the one who tried to dissuade my brother-in-law from acting in such manner. But in those days, he was drunk on power and listened to nobody," he alleged.

The estranged former aide also said that the RJD "would have been split many times, but for the anti-defection law, which were made more stringent by the late prime minister Atal (Bihari Vajpayee) ji".

He also dismissed his nephew Tejashwi Yadav as a "seasonal" politician, and predicted a landslide win for the NDA in the assembly polls due later this year, claiming that it would bag "more than 200 seats" in the 243-strong House.

RJD spokesman Shakti Yadav reacted to the remarks, saying "nobody will believe the diatribe coming from a person who brought disrepute to our party president, and who now seems to be playing into the hands of the ruling dispensation".

The RJD spokesman also referred to Prasad's combative statement earlier in the day when the septuagenarian asserted that BJP's recent victory in Delhi will have no impact in Bihar, and the saffron party "cannot win here as long as we are around".

"Our supremo's statement has sent the ruling coalition into a tizzy. So, baseless allegations are being made. But, our leader is an institution in himself. Many of his detractors as well as allies have learnt their ropes from him. His is too great to be diminished by such slander," asserted Shakti Yadav. 

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)