Soon after an audiotape of a conversation between Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad and his party’s jailed former MP from Siwan, Mohammad Shahabuddin, was broadcast by a newly launched private news channel, the BJP on Saturday demanded that an FIR be lodged against Mr. Prasad.
While the Janata Dal(U) has claimed that the tapes only revealed the good governance of the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar, the RJD, which is in a ruling alliance with the JD(U) in the State, has said that there was no question of sacking Mr. Shahabuddin from the party, as it was well known that he was an RJD leader.
Murder case
Following a Supreme Court order, Mr. Shahabuddin, a former four-time RJD MP, was recently shifted from the Siwan jail to the Tihar jail in connection with a murder case. As many as 45 cases are lodged against Mr. Shahabuddin, who is infamously known as the Sultan of Siwan (strongman of Siwan).
In the aired audio tape, whose authenticity cannot be confirmed by The Hindu , Mr Shahabuddin is heard speaking to his party chief, Mr. Prasad, allegedly from the Siwan jail. In the telephonic conversation, which reportedly took place at 5.37 p.m. on April 15, 2016, Mr. Shahabuddin complains about the Siwan Superintendent of Police, and seeks his removal from the district. “ Khatam SP hai aapka . riot karwa dega yahan … hatwaiye sab ko [your SP is bogus … he may trigger a riot here … remove all of them from here],” he is heard telling Mr. Prasad.
Influencing governance
“This audiotape has revealed that RJD chief Mr Prasad has been influencing officials on the instructions of Mr. Shahabuddin. It shows that Mr. Nitish Kumar has been running the government under the influence of Mr. Yadav. An FIR should immediately be lodged against Mr. Prasad, and the Governor should intervene in this issue,” demanded senior State BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi.
Mr. Modi alleged that the top leader of the “grand alliance” government in Bihar had been working in cahoots with a jailed “mafia don” like Shahabuddin. “It is now up to Mr. Kumar to take a decision on this. The ball is in his court,” Mr Modi said.
However, JD(U) leader and party spokesperson Neeraj Kumar told presspersons that good governance had been the hallmark of the Nitish Kumar government. “This alleged conversation is more than a year old. But even today, the same SP against whom Shahabuddin complained is still posted in Siwan. This shows our government’s commitment to good governance and the rule of law,” Mr Kumar said.
When journalists confronted senior RJD leader and former Bihar Minister Jagdanand Singh on the issue, he said it was no secret that Mr. Shahabuddin had been an RJD leader and there was no question of sacking him from the party.
“However, talking to a person in jail over phone — that was wrong,” he said.
