RJD demands apology from CBI for Tejashwi link to Gurugram mall. Warning follows

Biihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav has questioned the CBI move to register FIR in relation to the alleged land for job scam 15 years after Lalu Prasad demitted office as railway minister

PATNA: The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) on Friday asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to apologise for linking a Gurugram mall raided by the agency this week to Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav, saying it was an attempt to tarnish the party leader’s image.

Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav said the CBI, ED and Income Tax department were acting as BJP’s “three jamais” (son-in-law) (HT Photo/Santosh Kumar)

“I seek apology from the CBI for floating unsubstantiated narrative through its pet media that the mall in Gurgaon was in the name of Tejaswhi, while the fact is that only BJP leaders are associated with it,” RJD leader and Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Kumar Jha told reporters in Patna on Friday.

The Gurugram mall was one of the 25 locations searched by CBI on Wednesday, hours before the seven-party coalition led by Nitish Kumar was to face a trust vote in the assembly after parting ways with the BJP. The raids were conducted in connection with a case filed on May 18 against RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, his family members, and 12 others in a jobs-for-land case dating back to 2008-09 when he was the railway minister.

CBI officials on Wednesday had said that the Gurugram mall was linked to Tejashwi Yadav, a claim that has been vociferously denied by the deputy chief minister who described the three federal agencies, CBI, Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax, as the BJP’s three ‘jamais”, or sons-in-law.

“The attempt was to tarnish the image of Tejashwi… Media has also not apologised, which it should have done by now for not following the basic ethics before going with any news,” Jha said.

The RJD has posted videos on social media that show Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar and a BJP leader at events organised by the company which built the mall.

Jha also delivered a warning to central agencies for allegedly acting at the behest of the ruling party at the Centre. The RJD leader said it will be difficult for ED, I-T and CBI officials to move out of their houses if the pent-up anger in the public explodes.

“It is not a warning, as we have not sought support from the people so far. But if we seek support from the people for the way the agencies indulge in character-assassination of people to settle personal scores, it will take a dangerous turn. We just want to show the Centre the mirror and urge them to refrain from doing what they are,” he added.

Jha said that it is a request to the CBI to tender an apology, as it cannot remain quiet after Tejashwi Yadav came out with evidence about Haryana’s Whiteline Project and Urban Cubicle, which were incorrectly linked to him.

“The fact is that the BJP cannot fight politically and so it is stooping to this level, but it will cost the King and his advisors dearly. News can be planted, allegations can be made, false narrative can be built, but the truth cannot change and people’s trust cannot be misguided,” he added.

Jha said the BJP did not have it in it to fight the opposition politically in Bihar, as it realises the ground is slipping from under its feet. “It is upset that Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi have come together and the BJP is going to get wiped out from the state. As a result, the agencies are targeting those who talk about the poor and the downtrodden. This has angered the people for the sheer timing of raids and taking up of old cases to target RJD leaders and Group-D Railway employees,” he added.