Sushil Modi’s list of allegations

AroundnoononahotTuesday, Sushil Kumar Modi’s official residence on Patna’s Polo Road is filled with 50 or so people, gathered here for an audience with the Bharatiya Janata Party leader. He may be in the opposition but that doesn’t keep Modi from holding this Janata Darbar. At 1 pm sharp, Modi turns his attention to cameramen and reporters and his weekly disclosures begin.

For the last three months, Modi in such meetings has ranted against the alleged financial misdemeanors of one family: Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi of the Rashtriya Janata Dal.

It all began in April when he brandished a document that alleged that the Patna Zoo fraudulently purchased soil worth ~90 lakh from a company owned by an RJD MLA, Syed Abu Dojana. The zoo comes under the direct supervision of Lalu’s older son, Tej Pratap. Later, it came to light that the MLA’s company was constructing a mall on property owned by LARA Projects LLP, which is promoted by Rabri and her two sons, Tej Pratap and Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi. Modi alleged that the property was kickback from a prominent hotelier for getting two railway hotels on long-term lease when Lalu was the Union railways minister (2004-09).

Since then, Modi has relentlessly attacked the first family of the RJD over dubious land dealings. He has alleged that Tej Pratap acquired a fuel station in Patna on the basis of fudged documents. Bharat Petroleum later cancelled the allocation on the grounds that Tej Pratap concealed facts while applying for the station.

The last 12 years have been a roller-coaster ride for the veteran BJP leader. From scripting a stellar success story for the JD(U)BJP alliance in the 2005 and 2010 assembly elections to facing defeat in 2015, life seems to have come a full circle for Modi.

After the staggering performance in the 2010 assembly elections, Modi was seen as someone who had established BJP in the state. As finance minister in the Nitish Kumar cabinet, he brought the state back from the verge of insolvency.

However, his closeness to Nitish proved to be his Achilles’ heel. After Kumar broke off from the BJP in 2013, his detractors blamed Modi for stroking Kumar’s aspirations. That triggered his marginalisation within BJP, say political analysts. He was not invited to campaign with Narendra Modi in Varanasi during the 2014 general elections. The next year, in spite of all the firepower, BJP won only 53 seats in the 243-member house. Modi was blamed for the debacle. Last year, there was talk that he would be sent to the Rajya Sabha; instead, his bête-noire in the party, Gopal Narain Singh, was selected.

More ignominy was on its way. The central leadership appointed Nityanand Rai, not Modi, as the state BJP chief. Many of Modi’s loyalists in the party were quickly dropped by Rai. This year too, while several of his juniors were invited to campaign for the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, Modi was ignored by Narendra Modi and Amit Shah.

His fusillade against Lalu’s family has infused new life into Modi’s political career. BJP doesn’t know if to lionise him or continue to sidestep him. That’s why most party leaders have been quiet on the issues raised by Modi. “We are united in this

Lalu received land as kick-back from a prominent hotelier for giving Indian Railways hotels on a long-term lease

AK Infosystems, set up by liquor baron OP Katayal, acquired several benami properties for the Yadavs during Lalu’s tenure as railways minister

Tej Pratap, Lalu’s older son and state health minister, acquired a petrol pump in Patna on forged documents Tej Pratap concealed land property in election affidavit

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Yadav owns benami property worth ~115 crore in Delhi

Lalu’s daughter and MP Misa Bharti laundered money to buy a farmhouse in Delhi

Lalu’s servant gifted land worth ~1 crore to Rabri Devi

Rabri Devi owns 18 flats worth ~20 crore in Patna

Sushil Kumar Modi’s fusillade against Lalu’s family has infused a new life into his political career