Tejashwi Yadav Questioned By Probe Agency For 9 Hours In Land-For-Jobs Case

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav was questioned for nine hours by the Enforcement Directorate office in Delhi on Tuesday in a money laundering case linked to the alleged land-for-jobs scam case.

While leaving the ED office, Mr Yadav said, "I have been saying it from the beginning that all of this is for the 2024 elections. If I have done nothing wrong, then what can they question me about?"

33-year-old Tejashwi Yadav, son of RJD chief and former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, reached the federal probe agency's office in central Delhi at around 10:45 am. He was questioned by the CBI in this case last month.

The ED had conducted raids at his Delhi residence soon after Holi, and claimed searches at 24 locations led to recovery of a large sum of unaccounted cash and other valuable belongings.

Mr Yadav hit back, saying the agency got "zero" in their searches, and challenged them to make the seizure list public. He also slammed the BJP government for "spreading rumours" and "planting news".

Mr Yadav and his family members are accused of buying land dirt-cheap in exchange for jobs during his father RJD patriarch Lalu Prasad Yadav's stint as Union Railway Minister from 2004 to 2009.

According to the Enforcement Directorate, the current market value of land allegedly acquired in exchange for jobs by Lalu Yadav's family when he was the Railway Minister is approximately Rs 200 crore.

Additionally, the CBI, which is probing charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery, and corruption in the case, has alleged in its charge sheet that "irregular appointments" were made in the Railways in violation of rules.

Mr Yadav and leaders of his RJD, and even their ally and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, have dismissed the allegations by the ED as politically motivated.