Unnerved by the CBI raids at the official residence of Rabri Devi and lalu Prasad and filing of FIR against his Deputy Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who is recuperating in famous tourist spot Rajgir, undertook a tour of the beautiful lake called Ghora Katora on Saturday where he went riding a horse driven carriage and spent over two hours enjoying the serene beauty of the nature and the ducks playing in water. The administration cleansed the entire area and the route evicting everybody from there before the CM’s visit.
There was no official word though it is expected that Nitish will return to the State capital on Sunday. He is camping in Rajgir, 100 km away in his home district Nalanda since Thursday afternoon.
A day after the CBI search and interrogation of Rabri Devi and Tejashwi, the RJD supremo was closeted with party leaders and legal advisers. The family was obviously very disturbed on raids by Enforcement Directorate at the farmhouse of Misa Bharti and interrogation of her husband Shailesh in Delhi.
The silence of Nitish over these developments has caused murmur and uncertainty in the maha gathbandhan even though Congress came out in lalu’s support and its Bihar leaders visited him to show their solidarity. Bihar Congress president and Education Minister Ashok Choudhary and ClP leader Sadanand Singh called on lalu and accused BJP and Prime Minister for witch hunting. But no leader of JD(U) uttered a single word and party’s spokesmen observed a stony silence.
Inside the 10, Circular Road spacious bungalow there lalu family lives, the leaders pondered over the haunting question of the fate of Tejashwi. Some of them were of the opinion that he should not resign only on the basis of the FIR. The legal advisers claimed that the case was 11 years old and Tejashwi was then only a minor so the FIR naming him was invalid. lalu told them that the development would not affect the alliance and it would remain intact and solid.
The RJD chief reportedly reached to Nitish and informed him about the CBI action and feelings of his party leaders.
The political observers say that continuation of alliance was in the interest of lalu and also of Nitish at this juncture when the elections are still 2-3 years away and no party except BJP would favour snap Assembly polls. However, the happiest person on CBI action is none but senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi who for the past one and half months had been attacking lalu family and bringing out documents regarding alleged benami properties and money laundering. It is believed in political circles that it was the relentless efforts of former Deputy CM that the BJP led Centre activated CBI, I-T and ED to move against lalu family.
But Sushil Modi gives credit for the CBI raids in connection with the case related to the sale of two railway hotels to Nitish and his party JD(U). He said in 2008 then Bihar JD(U)m president Rajiv Ranjan Singh lalan and then party’s national spokesman Shivanand Tewari, now in RJD, had accused then Railway Minister lalu Prasad of amassing benami properties by allotting two IRCTC hotels to private players. Then JD(U) president Sharad Yadav and lalan had also submitted a voluminous memorandum to then PM Manmohan Singh seeking action against lalu, the BJP leader recalled.