E-Paper
Fodder scam: Five implications for Lalu Prasad following the SC verdict
The SC reviving trial in all fodder scam cases against RJD leader Lalu Prasad may have bearing on the Grand Alliance in the long term
Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad Yadav will face trial in all five fodder scam cases with the Supreme Court setting aside the Jharkhand High Court order on Monday.
The apex court, while setting aside the 2014 order which had stayed the trial against Yadav after conviction in one of the cases, said the high court should have been consistent in its findings and not have given different views for different sets of accused in a case.
A look at what the ruling means for Lalu Prasad:
•He will now have to face trial in all four cases against him in the animal husbandry scam.
•His debarment (from contesting elections) under the Representation of the People Act, 1951, will now prolong as long as the trial in the cases goes on.
•The verdict is unlikely to impact political equations in Bihar because chief minister Nitish Kumar is not in favour of breaking the alliance at the moment.
•In the long run, the corruption charges will weigh on the Grand Alliance and may lead to the JD(U) severing ties with the RJD before the next Assembly elections in 2020.
•RJD will now try to formalize deputy chief minister Tejaswi Yadav as the heir apparent to Lalu. He was projected as the successor in the RJD national executive recently.
