The BJP on Monday dared Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to confiscate the alleged "benami" properties of ruling Grand Alliance partner, RJD chief Lalu Prasad and his family, and use them to open schools for poor children.
"I challenge Nitish Kumar to confiscate the benami properties of Lalu and his family and open schools for poor children," senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi said here, days after the Income Tax Department conducted raids at 22 places in and around Delhi in connection with the Rs 1,000 crore worth "benami" properties linked to Lalu.
Earlier, Modi demanded legal action against the Rashtriya Janata Dal chief and his family under the Bihar Special Courts Act 2010. Modi said Lalu's eldest daughter, Misa Bharti, should reveal the source of funds with which she bought a farmhouse in Bijwasan area in New Delhi and asserted that the money actually belonged to Lalu, and was part of the Rs 1,000-crore fodder scam.
Lalu has refuted reports that the Income Tax Department has conducted raids at 22 places linked to him.
Modi, former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister who is considered the man behind the revelation of the "benami" properties of Lalu, said that since most of the properties are illegal the state government should go ahead to confiscate them and open schools for poor children.
"Benami properties of Lalu and his family are a result of corruption. There is a provision in Bihar under the special law to fight corruption to confiscate the property of corrupt officials and open schools for poor children. Now Nitish Kumar should order for it," he said.
Modi had last week demanded a probe by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into the links of Lalu Prasad and his family with jailed businessmen brothers Surendra Jain and Virendra Jain.
According to BJP leaders, the illegal properties of Lalu also include several big and palatial buildings in Patna besides several plots of land.
Lalu's RJD is a constituent of Bihar's ruling Grand Alliance of JD-U and Congress, led by Nitish Kumar.
His younger son Tejashwi Yadav is Deputy Chief Minister and elder son Tej Pratap Yadav is Bihar Health Minister.
In the past, the Bihar government has confiscated property of several corrupt officials.
The government has seized the houses of an IAS officer, an IPS officer and a treasury clerk in Patna and handed them over to schools.
--IANS
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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)