The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday issued fresh summons to Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav in a land-for-jobs money laundering case, reported news agency PTI citing sources. Yadav has been asked to appear for questioning on January 5.
Tejashwi was earlier called to appear before the central agency on December 22, however, he skipped it. On Thursday, the deputy CM said there was “nothing new” in the summons, and alleged the central agencies of acting as per the directions of the BJP.
“There is nothing new in the summons. All these agencies - ED, CBI, and I-T department - have summoned me so many times in the past and I have duly appeared every time. But now it seems to have become routine,” he told the media.
Meanwhile, Lalu Yadav - who was the railway minister when the alleged scam took place - has also been asked to depose before the ED on December 27.
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Lalu also hit out at the Centre saying, “I have always maintained that it is not the fault of these agencies which are being made to function under so much pressure. But I must point out that a prediction I made some time ago has come true…I had said that no sooner than the assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh were over, these agencies would be back in business and train their guns on Bihar, Jharkhand, and Delhi. And you can see what is happening to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal.”
What is the land-for-jobs scam case?
{{/usCountry}}Lalu also hit out at the Centre saying, “I have always maintained that it is not the fault of these agencies which are being made to function under so much pressure. But I must point out that a prediction I made some time ago has come true…I had said that no sooner than the assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh were over, these agencies would be back in business and train their guns on Bihar, Jharkhand, and Delhi. And you can see what is happening to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal.”
What is the land-for-jobs scam case?
{{/usCountry}}The alleged land-for-job scam occurred between 2004 and 2009 when Lalu Yadav was the railway minister during the Congress-led coalition regime. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) alleged that irregular appointments were made in the railways, violating the laid down norms and procedures of Indian Railways for recruitment. It added that those who got the jobs as “substitutes” in the railways - either directly or through their family members and relatives - sold land to Lalu's family members at “highly discounted rates”.
However, the Yadav family has denied the allegations, accusing the misuse of central agencies by the BJP-led central government.
(With inputs from PTI)