PATNA: RJD on Saturday said it would move the Jharkhand high court against the special CBI court's order convicting party chief
Lalu Prasad in the second fodder scam case.
"We respect the judiciary, but will go for an appeal against the judgment in the high court," senior RJD leader Jagdanand Singh said, adding the party will continue its 'fight against communal forces' under the leadership of Lalu's younger son and former deputy CM Tejashwi Prasad Yadav. The party also blamed BJP for 'conspiring' against Lalu to put him behind bars on false charges ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Singh said the verdict was deliberately pronounced on Saturday to prevent Lalu from filing bail petition at least till the next 10 days when the courts will remain closed for Christmas and the New Year.
Singh claimed it was Lalu who initiated probe into the fodder scam in 1998. "The fraudulent withdrawals of government funds were going on since 1977, but nobody said anything for the next 13 years. Even the Public Accounts Committee and the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) never intervened. The CAG only used to say about excessive expenditure. It was Lalu who found anomalies in fodder funds withdrawal in 1995 and ordered an inquiry," Singh said.
