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NDA leaders want Lalu to quit as RJD chief after land-for-jobs indictment
Lalu, a politician who disgraced politics with his deeds in the name of socialism, had no moral right to continue as the party chief anymore, said JD(U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar
Leaders of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar raised calls for RJD supremo Lalu Prasad to resign from all party posts after a Delhi court allowed charges be framed against him and his family members and others in the alleged land-for-job scam, with the Janata Dal (United) of chief minister Nitish Kumar leading the chorus.
The court framed charges against Lalu in the corruption case related to the alleged land-for-jobs case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Overall, charges have been framed against 41 accused persons, including Lalu Prasad and his wife Rabri Devi, son Tejashwi Prasad Yadav.
JD(U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said that Lalu, a politician who disgraced politics with his deeds in the name of socialism, had no moral right to continue as the party chief anymore after the court verdict as a convicted person should not be allowed to run a political party.
“His land should be confiscated and used for schools, old age homes and public welfare to send across a message to the future generations that consequences of corruption could be shattering. This is not a political, but a judicial downfall for Lalu Prasad and I hope the court will take the matter to its conclusive end fast. The people of Bihar have already shown mirror to the ‘corrupt family’,” he added.
He said that even Tejashwi Prasad Yadav (Leader of Opposition in the Vidhan Sabha) and Rabri Devi (Leader of Opposition in the Vidhan Parishad) should also resign from their positions after the court order.
BJP state chief Sanjay Saraogi said that the hands of the law would reach all the corrupt. “The hands of law are long and it takes its own course. Those who do corruption and scams cannot escape. In this case, the court has found a big criminal conspiracy. In the 15-year RJD rule, Bihar witnessed many scams and thousands of crores exchanged hands and state’s development was stalled and earned it a bad name,” he added.
Deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha, who had earlier said that the Revenue and Land Reforms department might take cognisance of reports that Lalu holds illegal landed property in the state, said that the court’s order and judge’s specific observations (about Lalu and his family) had underlined the deep-rooted corruption that the Lalu family indulged in.
Bihar agriculture minister Ramkripal Yadav, who had been a senior RJD leader before he joined BJP, said that “the law is doing its job and the court has made its observations in the case”.
The RJD, however, defended its leader and alluded that the institutions of the country “were functioning aligned with the BJP”. RJD leader Shakti Singh Yadav said that the court order had not come as a surprise. “We are not surprised because we have seen how the BJP and the constitutional institutions of this country are functioning... It is clear that the CBI has been wrong in this entire matter. This case was closed three times... Anyone in this country who stands up to the BJP, and who opposes its wrong policies, will have to face such action. Therefore, we are not worried about this and will respond through legal means.”
