CBI raids residences of four RJD leaders hours before floor test in Bihar Assembly
The searches were carried in connection with an alleged land-for-jobs scam.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday carried out searches at the residences of four Rashtriya Janata Dal leaders in connection with its probe into an alleged land-for-jobs scam, ANI reported.
Searches were conducted at the residences of RJD MP Ashfaque Karim and Faiyaz Ahmad and MLC Sunil Singh and Subodh Roy.
The case pertains to allegations that Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav took land from job aspirants in return for employment with the Railways. The land-grabbing had allegedly taken place when he was the railway minister in the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government.
Notably, the raids by the Central Bureau of Investigation came hours before the Nitish Kumar-led grand alliance government will face a floor test in the Bihar Assembly.
Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav alleged that the CBI, Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax Department are the “three jamais [sons-in-law]” of the Bharatiya Janata Party that are put to work whenever the Hindutva party loses power in the state, ANI reported.
“When I go to foreign countries, BJP issues lookout notices against me and when fraudsters like Nirav Modi run away, they don’t do anything,” he said in the Bihar Assembly.
Yadav also denied media reports that he owns a mall in Gurugram where the CBI carried out raids on Wednesday. “These media outlets should do some research,” the deputy chief minister said. “It belongs to someone based in Haryana, and was inaugurated by a BJP MP.”
The RJD leader said that Kumar’s decision to join the RJD-led Grand Alliance was courageous and historic, NDTV reported. “The decision is in the interest of Bihar as well as that of the country,” he said. “It is aimed at saving democracy and the constitution.”
The deputy chief minister also said that RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav never “bowed before communal forces” despite being put under pressure.
Kumar took oath as the chief minister for the eighth time on August 10, a day after he cut ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance. Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav was sworn in as his deputy.
A day prior to that, Kumar had resigned as the chief minister. Hours later, he staked a claim to form a new government after being elected as the leader of the Grand Alliance of nine parties.
On Wednesday, Singh, whose residence was being searched by the investigating agency, alleged that the raid was carried out under the direction of the BJP government in the Centre.
“It is being done intentionally,” Singh told ANI. “There is no meaning to it. They [BJP] are doing it thinking that out of fear, MLAs will come in their favour.”
RJD MP Manoj Jha also alleged that the saffron party was misusing law enforcement agencies.
“Useless to say that it is a raid by the ED or IT or CBI, it’s a raid by BJP,” Jha told ANI. “ They work under BJP now, their offices run with BJP script. Today is the floor test [in Bihar Assembly] and what is happening here? It has become predictable.”
‘We will not be scared,’ says Rabri Devi
Rashtriya Janata Dal leader and former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi on Wednesday said that the party is not scared of the raids, ANI reported.
“They [BJP] are scared as a new government has been formed under the leadership of Nitish Kumar,” she told the reporters. “All parties are with us except BJP. We have the majority here in the state and we will not be scared, because this is not the first time that this is happening.”