Lalu’s fodder trial put on fast track
new delhi — Bihar political leader and chief of Rashtriya Janata Dal, Lalu Prasad Yadav’s trial for corruption involving the fodder scam during his term as chief minister of Bihar should be completed within nine months, the Supreme Court ruled on Monday. In short, the trial has been revived and now put on fast track.
The fodder scam relates to fraudulent withdrawal of around Rs10 billion by the animal husbandry department from various districts during Prasad’s tenure as Bihar chief minister from 1990 to 1997. Lalu, 68, is banned from running for office after being convicted in the fodder scam.
The scam involved feed for nonexistent cattle being bought at inflated invoices. The swindle, according to the CBI, was worth about Rs10 billion and played out during 1990 to 1997.
Lalu must now face a separate, expedited trial in one of the fodder scam related cases, which specifically involves unaccounted withdrawal of Rs10 million. Lalu will face charges, including criminal conspiracy and fraud in the fresh trial. The court set aside a ruling of the Jharkhand High Court that dropped certain charges against Lalu on the grounds that a person once convicted or acquitted cannot to be tried for the same offense again.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had appealed against the high court ruling, and the court upheld it. The major political setback for the RJD chief is also a cause of embarrassment for the Nitish Kumar government which is in alliance with RJD as a partner. The two parties had joined hands against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the assembly elections of 2015 and the alliance had won 178 seats in the 243-member assembly. The BJP has been looking for a chance to get back, since.
It might be a coincidence that Arnab Goswamy’s new TV channel, Republic, aired an “expose” on its inaugural show on Saturday, which involved a conversation where mafia don Shahabuddin from Siwan jail in Bihar gave instructions to Lalu regarding a riot on April 15, 2016. He wanted Lalu to call the police chief and rein in the cops. Goswamy’s channel said the tape was clear indication that Lalu is in direct touch with criminal elements.
K.C. Tyagi, senior leader of JD(U), dismissed both the fodder scam and the tape as matters of little political consequence. “The alliance between Janata Dal (United) and RJD is not affected. Nitish Kumar is running a clean and transparent government which is working for the benefit of the people. There is no charge of corruption against the state government,” he said.
The timing of Monday’s ruling is interesting as it follows on the heels of the TV channel’s revelations. Shahabuddin besides being a mafia don is also a RJD leader. A RJD spokesman said the tape was in all likelihood handed over to the channel, which is pro-BJP, by the government.
In October 2013, Lalu was convicted by a special CBI court in Ranchi and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment in one of the cases arising out of the fodder scam, as a consequence of which he was disqualified from contesting any election for 11 years. He moved the Jharkhand High Court challenging the verdict of the CBI court. “BJP welcomes the order of the Supreme Court and this order reinforces public faith in ensuring that unscrupulous politicians do not go scot-free. Lalu will now have to face the full consequences of his illegal actions,” said G.V.L. Narasimha Rao, spokesperson of the BJP.
“It is a judicial process and it is not a new case, it is an old case. The constitution of our country gives people the right to approach a larger bench if they are not satisfied with court proceedings,” said Congress’s senior spokesperson, Shakeel Ahmad.
The Congress party, also a part of ruling alliance in Bihar, is treading carefully on the issue. According to a senior Congress leader, the party feels that even though Monday’s development is a ‘personal blow’ to Lalu, it may not impact the incumbent alliance as the former Bihar chief minister is not an elected representative and is barred from contesting polls.
In 2013, Lalu, who heads the Rashtriya Janata Dal, was named in six cases embedded in the fodder scam. He was convicted in 2013 in one of them, and then appealed that the others be dropped since he cannot be tried for the same offenses again. The Supreme Court has now rejected that request and said he will be tried in all the cases.
Lalu is a resourceful politician and not easily swayed by adversity. He still enjoys huge popular support for championing backward castes and in the last Bihar election in 2015, his party won more seats than any other, but agreed to honour an earlier agreement with Nitish Kumar to serve as No 2 in the alliance.
In recent weeks, his sons, Tejashwi and Tej Pratap, have been accused by the BJP of concealing vast real estate assets which were illicitly acquired, according to the opposition.