PATNA/RANCHI: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday charged his rival and RJD president Lalu Prasad with being in constant touch with his party leaders over the phone despite being in prison.

Following the charge, Lalu’s room in a hospital was raided by police during the day, but nothing was found.

The statement kicked off a huge row, however, with Lalu’s son and former deputy chief minister in Nitish cabinet, Tejashwi Yadav debunking it wholesale.

The Bihar CM alleged that Lalu, who is serving sentence in fodder scam cases in Ranchi’s Birsa Munda jail, was in constant touch with the outside world in contravention of prison rules and even managing politics.

“It is well known that Lalu telephones his associates and people, rules be damned,” Kumar told a news channel.

As per the jail manual, visitors are allowed only three days in a week and it is applicable to all prisoners. Jharkhand IG (Prisons) Harsha Mangla said there was no truth in Nitish’s statement and that Lalu was under tight security.    

“This is completely wrong; there is no substance in the claims made by the Bihar Chief Minister. We conduct regular searches of the entire premises Lalu Prasad is currently lodged in, and no mobile phone or any other objectionable article was recovered from there,” said the IG.

“The RJD chief is not talking to anybody over phone.”

Mangla said that since the model code of conduct kicked in, Lalu has been denied visitors, even family members. Lalu’s elder son Tej Pratap in Patna testified to this.

He said, “I myself have been trying to talk to him but not been able to.”

Mangla further said that a search was conducted by a joint team of SP City, RIMS administration and Superintendent of Jail, in the ward Lalu is admitted on Tuesday also, but nothing objectionable was recovered.

The team also inquired from the RJD chief’s attendants, who also denied the allegation and said even they are not allowed to keep mobile phones.

Lalu, a heart patient, is currently admitted to RIMS in Ranchi. He also suffers from kidney ailments and had recently undergone a fistula operation.

He had been granted a six-week provisional bail by the Jharkhand High Court on May 11, 2018, for the purpose of medical treatment on the condition of restraining himself from any political activity. Lalu had also been asked to submit medical reports before the court.