RJD boss lalu Prasad and his family is seemingly getting embroiled in fresh controversies and scandals with Opposition hurling accusations against him and wife Rabir Devi, both former CMs and their two sons, both Ministers.
Even as accusations and denials were flying thick and fast over the Rs 90-lakh soil scam, senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi came out on Friday with a bigger “scandal” which he said emerged out of the soil scam. He alleged that lalu, Rabri, and their sons and daughters were involved in the shopping mall scandal worth Rs 750 crore.
Modi at a Press conference alleged that the 2 acre land on which the mall was coming up was owned by Rabri and her two sons. “The documents show how this land was transferred in the name of lalu kin when he was Railway Minister. The land was transferred by real estate big family Kochhars near Danapur in lieu of arbitrary sale of two hotels of railways to that family. It had been done by then Railway Minister lalu and the land was transferred to a company of which lalu sons and Rabri were directors.
While lalu has not commented on Modi’s charges nor tweeted, younger son and Deputy CM Tejashwi Prasad Yadav quipped, “It is an old habit of Modi to implicate my father in all sorts of scams. When the truth will come out, Modi will have to apologise.” No leader of allies JD(U) and Congress who would give reactions on non-issues remained silent even as Modi challenged RJD boss to deny the allegation and said he would welcome a defamation suit as threatened by lalu’s elder son and Health Minister Tej Pratap Yadav.
Sushil Modi said in 2008 this land had been sold out to Sarla Gupta, wife of RJD MP Prem Gupta, who was owner of Delite Marketing Company and had been sold by Kochhar borothers Harsh, Vinay and Vijay who owns a hotel in Patna.
Modi said Kochhars sold the 2 acre prime land, valued at Rs 30 crore, after the Railway Minister agreed to lease out railway hotels in Ranchi and Puri to them. In 2014 lalu’s both sons and daughters Chanda and Ragini were made directors of this company and later on Rabri also became one its directors. “lalu had been saying that he was son of a poor chaprasi (peon). How come his sons became billionairesIJ” asked Modi.
What is the most interesting twist in this entire episode is that the leasing of hotels by then Rail Minister lalu and transfer of 2 acres of prime land had been raised first time on August 25, 2008 by then Bihar JD(U) president Rajiv Ranjan Singh lalan, who is now water resources Minister.
It is also an irony that it was lalan Singh who was also a petitioner in the High Court regarding the fodder scam involving lalu and some of his Ministers. The political circles are agog with reports that every time lalu was entangled in a scandal lalan Singh had some role in highlighting them. Needless to say that lalan is closest confident of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.