After conviction, BJP takes battle into Congress camp

After its split with Nitish Kumar-led JD (U), the BJP’s glee over RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s plight after conviction in the multi-crore fodder scam also ringed with calculations not to let the UPA government escape blame of helping him as he was an ally of the Congress for a long time.

After its split with Nitish Kumar-led JD (U), the BJP’s glee over RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s plight after conviction in the multi-crore fodder scam also ringed with calculations not to let the UPA government escape blame of helping him as he was an ally of the Congress for a long time.

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BJP general secretary Rajiv Pratap Rudy said while two former Bihar CMs - Lalu Prasad and Jagannath Mishra - have been found guilty by the special CBI court, a third chief minister may soon find himself in the dock. “A PIL was filed in a Rs 900 crore (animal husbandry department) scam in the Jharkhand High Court in which a third chief minister may be indicted,” Rudy said.

He was referring to the Jharkhand High Court’s directive to the CBI to file a counter-affidavit on the writ by one Mithilesh Kumar Singh in which it is alleged that Kumar and JD (U) Rajya Sabha member Shivanand Tiwari were beneficiaries in the scam.

Leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said the UPA government, after helping Yadav since it came to power and of which he was a minister, even prepared for his “life after conviction” with an amendment to section 8(4) of the Representation of Peoples Act, 1951.

“When Parliament did not approve the Bill and referred it to the standing committee, the shameless UPA government approved an ordinance to help the convicted MPs and MLAs save their seats. The President was reluctant to sign the ordinance, which could not be approved for reasons that are well known. The only objective of the ordinance was to help a loyal UPA ally who was likely to be convicted. In the end justice has prevailed.”

The BJP leader said, while the disproportionate assets case against Yadav was given a judicial burial, “One can manage the system on some occasions. But it is not possible to manage all the people all the time.”