Ranchi, Jan 17: He may be cooling his heels off in jail after being sentenced in a Fodder Scam case, but Lalu Prasad Yadav is one leader who is never out of political action. The former Bihar chief minister on Wednesday appeared before a court in Ranchi for hearing in another case related to the scam. Talking to reporters outside the special CBI court, Lalu attacked the Centre over removal of Haj Subsidy.
Prime Minister Modi is troubling Muslims, Lalu told reporters. The Rashtriya Janata Dal boss also questioned Vishwa Hindu Parishad international working president Pravin Togadia’s claim that there was an attempt to the assassinate him in an encounter.
Lalu said Togadia has Z-plus security, so why did he disappear without informing the security guards. Togadia must reveal where did he vanish before being found unconscious in a hospital.
The central government on Tuesday said it has decided to withdraw subsidy given to Muslims for the annual Haj pilgrimage.
Announcing the decision, Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said it was in line with the government’s agenda to empower minorities without appeasing them.
“This is part of our policy to empower minorities with dignity and without appeasement,” Naqvi said.
He said the government would utilise the funds saved from withdrawing the subsidy for education of minorities, particularly girls.
Naqvi said the subsidy amount ranged from Rs 500-700 crore, which mainly went to the national carrier Air India that flew the pilgrims to Jeddah, along with Saudi Airlines, in a 50:50 ratio.