JD(U) puts Lalu’s son on notice
Ally asks Dy CM Tejashwi to establish his innocence in public
The Janata Dal (United)Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) alliance in Bihar took another step towards the brink on Tuesday.
While the RJD has rejected the possibility of Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav quitting over charges of corruption against him, the Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) asked RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s son to put out his defence in the public domain.
Kumar held a meeting of his party’s Members of Parliament, legislators and office-bearers in Patna to discuss the situation that has arisen after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) charged Prasad and his family (including his son Tejashwi) in a corruption case and raided premises owned by them in Patna, Delhi and Gurugram.
While no timeline has been fixed, a senior JD(U) leader said in the days to come Tejashwi should either put out a convincing explanation about his involvement in the case or else quit the government. “We are committed to our alliance with the RJD, but it would embarrass the government if Tejashwi were to be arrested while he is still the deputy CM,” the JD(U) leader said. He said the party wasn't concerned with the charges against Prasad and his daughter Misa Bharti since the two were not ministers in the Bihar government.
JD(U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said in Patna his party had never compromised on crime and corruption in the past and would not do it in future. “There cannot be two different standards on the issue. We would ask those accused in the corruption case to counter the charges with facts. They must put out the facts in public domain,” the spokesperson said. The JD(U) has argued that the RJD shouldn't raise the bogey of secularism and political vendetta but counter the charges on facts.
This is the first time the JD(U) has issued a statement in the aftermath of the CBI raids on Prasad in connection with a corruption case. Prasad is accused of helping a private hotelier to get two IRCTC hotels on long-term lease in return for his family acquiring three acres of prime land in Patna at a throwaway price. The plot of land is owned by a company in which Prasad’s wife Rabri Devi and sons Tejashwi and Tej Pratap own all the shares. Tej Pratap is also a minister in the Bihar government.
In New Delhi, JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav attended the meeting of the Opposition to discuss its vice-presidential candidate. JD(U) spokesperson and former MP K C Tyagi, who was scheduled to attend the meeting, stayed away. Party sources said the JD(U) was yet to take a final decision on whether it would support the vice-presidential candidate of the Opposition, indicating that Sharad Yadav and the Bihar CM weren’t on the same page on the issue.