New Delhi: The NDA in Bihar on Friday welcomed a Delhi court’s order directing framing of charges against RJD chief and former railway minister Lalu Prasad, his family members and others in the alleged land-for-job scam.
Special Judge Vishal Gogne said Prasad used the railway ministry as his personal fiefdom to carry out a criminal enterprise, where public employment was used as a bargaining chip to acquire land parcels by the Yadav family in connivance with railway officials and his close aides.
Talking to reporters here, JDU MLC Neeraj Kumar alleged that Lalu Prasad’s family was running a criminal-political syndicate.
“We expect the judiciary to expedite the trial and confiscate their property. Orphanages, widow homes and hostels for EBC students should be built there to send a strong message that politics is not a business for running a crime syndicate,” he said.
Bihar minister and former BJP state president Dilip Jaiswal asserted that Lalu Prasad and his family must follow the orders and directions of the court.
“Lalu ji and his family were given a fair chance to present their case. The court has given the verdict after listening to both sides and based on evidence presented by the investigating agency. Lalu Prasad must follow the directions of the court,” he added.
BJP’s state spokesperson Niraj Kumar alleged that Lalu Prasad’s family uses politics as a tool for corruption to accumulate wealth by looting the people of Bihar, including the poor.
“It is clear from the court’s order that Lalu Prasad’s family runs a criminal syndicate. We demand that their international property should, too, be investigated,” he added.
RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari alleged that probe agencies were working in connivance with the central government as part of a political vendetta.
“The case was closed long before, but enforcement agencies reopened it following directions of the central government to trouble Lalu Prasad and his family,” he said.
Tiwari alleged that since the BJP was unable to “compete politically” with Lalu Prasad and the RJD, they resorted to “misuse of investigation agencies.” The RJD spokesperson asserted that the party will “continue the legal fight till justice is served.”