Land-for-jobs scam: Action by central agencies against Lalu Prasad, kin may unite non-BJP parties

PATNA: The continuing action against RJD president Lalu Prasad and his family members by the central agencies in the land-for-jobs scandal has started uniting the scattered opposition against the ruling BJP at the Centre ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The CBI has been questioning Lalu and his family members while the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has conducted multiple searches on their premises.
Even smaller political parties such as Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) headed by former minister Mukesh Sahani and Aam Janata Party Rashtriya (AJPR) led by Vidyapati Chandravanshi, which looked reluctant at one point of time, are now publicly targeting the Centre over the issue. Sahani was recently granted ‘Y+’ security by the ministry of home affairs apparently in a bid to lure him to the NDA camp.
“The country’s politics has deviated to another direction as opposition parties are getting targeted. Even old cases are being reopened. But Lalu Prasad is not a kind of person who can be intimidated,” Sahani told the media Saturday evening. Centre’s actions, he added, are creating an impression among the public that the investigations are being carried out with the intention to harass the Lalu family.
Questioning the CBI/ED’s action, the AJPR chief wondered as to why the central agencies suddenly began digging out the case again when it was put in the cold storage a long time back.
“We are not against action against the culprits but are indeed concerned over reported torture of female members (of Lalu family by the central agencies),” Chandravanshi said, asking the central agencies to officially inform what they seized during the searches and from where.
The JD(U) of chief minister Nitish Kumar, after displaying initial hesitation, has come out in support of the Lalu family. While Nitish said raids resumed after the “RJD and JD(U) came together”, his party national president Rajiv Ranjan alias Lalan Singh launched scathing attacks on the Centre. Alleging the federal agencies could go to any extent to prove they have got evidence, Singh added, “The horns of the cow are being added to the buffaloes and vice-versa”.
He also charged the investigating agencies with harassing the female members of Lalu family.
“This kind of ruthless behaviour with pregnant women and small children has happened for the first time in the country, which will remember it,” he said and declared the country would be free from BJP in 2024 no matter how much it suppresses the opposition.
Congress has already supported Lalu and his family with party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi constantly slamming the Centre for harassing the opposition.
“Why is the BJP government so scared of the vocal voices of the opposition? By adopting all such tactics, the government is just doing politics to suppress the unyielding voices of the opposition,” Priyanka tweeted on Saturday, adding the action against Tejashwi was inspired by this politics.
The CBI and ED sleuths have been quizzing Lalu and his family members and are also conducting regular searches on their premises for the past about a week in the case.
The alleged scandal took place between 2004 and 2009 when Lalu served as the Union railway minister.