Tejashwi wasted public money: Sushil Kumar Modi

PATNA: Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi (SuMo) took possession of 5, Deshratna Marg bungalow vacated by RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s younger son Tejashwi Prasad Yadav after the Supreme Court rejected his plea to retain it.

The bungalow is at a stone’s throw from Raj Bhavan and CM’s 1, Aney Marg residence. SuMo told mediapersons that the bungalow has been designed on the pattern of a seven-star hotel.

“Even CM’s bungalow and Raj Bhavan will fail to meet the grandeur of this bungalow. It looks nothing less than a seven-star hotel for the way its interiors as well as exteriors have been designed,” the deputy CM said.

SuMo said he would use the bungalow only for official purposes and stay in his own house at Rajendra Nagar.

The 5, Deshratna Marg bungalow was allotted to Tejashwi in the capacity of deputy CM in Grand Alliance (GA) government of JD(U), RJD and Congress. However, after CM Nitish Kumar dumped the GA and formed government with BJP in July 2017, the government allotted it to SuMo and asked Tejashwi to shift to 1, Polo Road bungalow, which has been earmarked for leader of opposition.

Tejashwi moved the Patna high court against the government’s order to vacate the bungalow. The HC, in October last, quashed his writ application. The younger Yadav scion later challenged the HC order in the Supreme Court, which also turned down his appeal and imposed Rs50,000 as fine on him for wasting “judicial time”.

Taking a dig at Tejashwi for being reluctant to vacate the bungalow, SuMo said: “He (Tejashwi) did not want to vacate the bungalow because he did not want people to know how much public money he wasted in making it a lavish palace. It is a sheer example of misuse of power and public money.”

He added: “There was no need of being so obsessive with government bungalow. We all know that these bungalows are to be occupied only till one holds a particular position and are to be vacated thereafter.”